The 2011 Big Ten Conference football season is the 116th for the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

. The conference started its season on Saturday, September 3, as each of the conference's teams began their respective 2011 season of

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) competition. This season is Nebraska's first season as a member of the Big Ten, and also marks the creation of conference divisions (named Leaders and Legends), and a championship game. The season was also notable for the

Penn State child sex abuse scandal The Penn State child sex abuse scandal concerned allegations and subsequent convictions of child sexual abuse committed by Jerry Sandusky, an assistant coach for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team, over a period of at least fifteen years. ...

. For the season, Leaders Division champion

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

finished as conference champion by defeating Legends Division champion

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

in the 2011 Big Ten Football Championship Game.

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

was Leaders Division co-Champion, while Legends Division runner-up

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

finished with the conference's best record. The conference earned two BCS bowl invitations and compiled a 4–6 overall record in 2011–12 NCAA football bowl games. The Conference had six 2011 College Football All-America Team consensus selections:

Montee Ball Montee Ball Jr. (born December 5, 1990) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at Wisconsin, where he was twice recognized as the be ...

Kevin Zeitler Kevin Zeitler ( ; born March 8, 1990) is an American football guard for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Wisconsin, and earned consensus All-American honors. He was selected by the Cincin ...

David Molk David Michael Molk (born December 15, 1988) is a former American football center (American football), center. Molk previously played college football at the same position for University of Michigan, where he was a consensus All-American and won ...

Whitney Mercilus Whitney Mercilus (born July 21, 1990) is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons, primarily with the Houston Texans. He played college football at Illinois, where he received unanimous ...

(unanimous),

Devon Still Devon Joshua Still (born July 11, 1989) is a former American football defensive end. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He played college football at Penn State, where he earned consensus All-Am ...

, and

Jerel Worthy Jerel Worthy (born April 26, 1990) is a former American football defensive tackle. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He played college football for Michigan State, where he was recognized as a con ...

, with the

Rimington Trophy The Dave Rimington Trophy is awarded to the player considered to be the best American football center in college football. Dave Rimington was a center who played at the University of Nebraska from 1979 to 1982. A member of the National College F ...

going to Molk and the

Ted Hendricks Award The Ted Hendricks Award is given annually to college football's top defensive end. The award is named after Ted Hendricks, a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame, and is presented by his own foundation. I ...

going to Mercilus. Ball won the

Chicago Tribune Silver Football The Chicago Tribune Silver Football is awarded by the ''Chicago Tribune'' to the college football player determined to be the best player from the Big Ten Conference. The award has been presented annually since 1924, when Red Grange of Illinois wa ...

and the conference's players won four national statistical championships:

Russell Wilson Russell Carrington Wilson (born November 29, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played his first 10 seasons for the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson is widely regarded ...

(

passing efficiency Passer rating (also known as passing efficiency in college football) is a measure of the performance of passers, primarily quarterbacks, in gridiron football. There are two formulas currently in use: one used by both the National Football Leagu ...

Raheem Mostert Dominique Raheem Mostert (born April 9, 1992) is an American football running back for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Purdue. Mostert attended New Smyrna Beach High School in New Smyrna B ...

(

kickoff return A kickoff is a method of starting a drive in gridiron football. Typically, a kickoff consists of one team – the "kicking team" – kicking the ball to the opposing team – the "receiving team". The receiving team is then entitled to ''return ...

average), Ball (

scoring Score or scorer may refer to: *Test score, the result of an exam or test Business * Score Digital, now part of Bauer Radio * Score Entertainment, a former American trading card design and manufacturing company * Score Media, a former Canadian m ...

), and Mercilus (

quarterback sack In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in th ...

s). Following the season the conference contributed 41 to the

2012 NFL Draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

, including 4 in the first round:

Riley Reiff Riley Reiff (born December 1, 1988) is an American football offensive tackle for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Iowa and was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the first round, 23r ...

(23rd), Mercilus (26th), Zeitler (27th), and A. J. Jenkins (30th).

Rankings

Spring games

April 9 *Purdue Boilermakers April 16 *Indiana Hoosiers *Iowa Hawkeyes *Michigan Wolverines *Nebraska Cornhuskers *Northwestern Wildcats *Penn State Nittany Lions April 23 *Illinois Fighting Illini *Minnesota Golden Gophers *Ohio State Buckeyes *Wisconsin Badgers April 30 *Michigan State Spartans

Regular season

All times Eastern time. Rankings reflect that of the AP poll.

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12

Week 13

Big Ten Championship Game

Players of the week

Attendance

Post-season awards and honors

Individual Big Ten Award Winners

* Griese- Brees Quarterback of the Year:

* Richter-

Howard Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...

Receiver of the Year:

Marvin McNutt Marvin McNutt, Jr. (born July 4, 1989) is a former American football wide receiver. After playing college football for Iowa, where he became the all-time leader in receiving touchdowns and yardage (single season & career), he was drafted by the ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

* Ameche- Dayne Running Back of the Year:

, Wisconsin * Kwalick-

Clark Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educate ...

Tight End of the Year:

Drake Dunsmore Drake C. Dunsmore (born November 4, 1988) is a former American football tight end. Dunsmore attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School. During college, he played for Northwestern. At Northwestern, he was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten Perform ...

, Northwestern *

Rimington Rimington is a rural village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. The population of the civil parish was 382 at the 2001 Census, however at the 2011 Census Middop was included with Rimington giving a total of 480. It is e ...

Pace Pace or paces may refer to: Business *Pace (transit), a bus operator in the suburbs of Chicago, US * Pace Airlines, an American charter airline *Pace Foods, a maker of a popular brand of salsa sold in North America, owned by Campbell Soup Compan ...

Offensive Lineman of the Year:

Smith Smith may refer to: People * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland ** List of people wi ...

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model used ...

Defensive Lineman of the Year:

Butkus Butkus is the masculine form of a Lithuanian family name. Its feminine forms are: Butkienė or Butkuvienė (married woman or widow) and Butkutė (unmarried woman). The surname is derived from the diminutive form ''Butkus'' of the Lithuanian given ...

Fitzgerald The FitzGerald/FitzMaurice Dynasty is a noble and aristocratic dynasty of Cambro-Norman, Anglo-Norman and later Hiberno-Norman origin. They have been peers of Ireland since at least the 13th century, and are described in the Annals of the ...

Linebacker of the Year:

Lavonte David Lavonte Lamar David (born January 23, 1990) is an American football linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Nebraska, and was drafted by the Buccaneers in ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

* Tatum- Woodson Defensive Back of the Year:

Alfonzo Dennard Alfonzo Dennard (born September 9, 1989) is a former American football cornerback. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the 7th round with the 224th overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft. He played in college for the University of Nebras ...

, Nebraska * Bakken-

Andersen Andersen () is a Danish-Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Anders" (itself derived from the Greek name " Ανδρέας/Andreas", cf. English Andrew). It is the fifth most common surname in Denmark, shared by about 3.2% of the population.< ...

Kicker of the Year: Brett Maher, Nebraska * Eddleman-

Fields Fields may refer to: Music *Fields (band), an indie rock band formed in 2006 *Fields (progressive rock band), a progressive rock band formed in 1971 * ''Fields'' (album), an LP by Swedish-based indie rock band Junip (2010) * "Fields", a song by ...

Punter of the Year: Brett Maher, Nebraska

All-Big Ten

The following players were named by the coaches.: HONORABLE MENTION: Illinois: Jeff Allen, Jonathan Brown, Derek Dimke, Terry Hawthorne, Ian Thomas; Indiana: Mitch Ewald, Jeff Thomas; Iowa: Broderick Binns,

James Ferentz James Ferentz (born June 5, 1989) is an American football center for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2014. He played college football at Iowa. H ...

Eric Guthrie Eric Guthrie (born April 27, 1947) is a Canadian-born quarterback who played in the World Football League (WFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He played for the BC Lions from 1972–1973, the Detroit Wheels in 1974, the BC Lions from 1975– ...

, Micah Hyde, James Morris, Markus Zusevics; Michigan: Kenny Demens, J.T. Floyd, Kevin Koger,

Junior Hemingway Kenneth Earl "Junior" Hemingway Jr. (born December 27, 1988) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2012 NFL Draft. He completed his redshirt senior season in 2011 for the Michigan Wolver ...

Denard Robinson Denard Xavier Robinson (born September 22, 1990) is currently the Assistant Director of Player Personnel for the University of Michigan football program. Robinson is also a former American football running back who played for four seasons in th ...

Fitzgerald Toussaint Fitzgerald D'Andre Toussaint (born May 4, 1990) is a former American football running back. He played college football at Michigan and signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2014. He has also been a member of the Pittsbu ...

Ryan Van Bergen Ryan Charles Van Bergen, sometimes (mis)spelled Ryan VanBergen, (born March 18, 1989) is a former American football defensive end. He had signed as an undrafted free agent with the Carolina Panthers following the 2012 NFL Draft but did not make ...

; Michigan State: Denicos Allen,

Le'Veon Bell Le'Veon Andrew Bell Sr. ( ; born February 18, 1992) is an American football running back who is a free agent. He played college football at Michigan State and was drafted 48th overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round of the 20 ...

, Kenshawn Martin,

Trenton Robinson Trenton Robinson (born February 16, 1990) is a former American football safety. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He played college football at Michigan State University. He was also a member ...

, Marcus Rush; Minnesota: Kim Royston; Nebraska:

Will Compton William Compton III (born September 19, 1989) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and originally signed with the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free age ...

, Ben Cotton,

Spencer Long Spencer Long (born November 8, 1990) is a former American football center. He played college football at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He has also been ...

, Marcel Jones, Baker Steinkuhler; Northwestern:

Jeremy Ebert Jeremy Ebert (born April 6, 1989) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the seventh round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He played college football at Northwestern. Early years Ebert was born in ...

Jordan Mabin Jordan Christopher Mabin (born October 31, 1988) is an American football cornerback who is currently a free agent. He has also been a member of the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, Atlanta Falcons and the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Foo ...

, Brian Mulroe, Al Netter,

Dan Persa Daniel Vaughn Persa (born November 20, 1988) is a former American college football quarterback who played for the Northwestern Wildcats. He attended Liberty High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Early life and high school career Persa was bor ...

, Brian Peters; Ohio State:

Johnathan Hankins Johnathan Hankins (born March 30, 1992) is an American football defensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State, where he received All-American honors, and was drafted by t ...

Dan Herron Daniel "Boom" Herron (born March 21, 1989) is a former American football running back. Herron played football at Warren G. Harding High School in Warren, Ohio, and later Ohio State University. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL d ...

Jack Mewhort Jack Mewhort (born August 30, 1991) is a former American football guard who played four seasons for Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State and was drafted by the Colts in the second rou ...

, Jake Stoneburner; Penn State: Drew Astorino, Anthony Fera, Jordan Hill,

D'Anton Lynn D'Anton Lynn (born Anthony Ray Lynn II, October 24, 1989) is the defensive coordinator for the UCLA Bruins of the Pac-12 Conference (NCAA). He previously served as the defensive backs coach for the Baltimore Ravens in 2021 before being elevated ...

Derek Moye Derek Robert Moye (born August 12, 1988) is a former American football wide receiver. After playing college football for Penn State, he was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2012. Early years Moye attended Rochester Ar ...

, Chima Okoli, Chaz Powell, Johnnie Troutman; Purdue: Joe Holland,

Dennis Kelly Dennis Kelly is a British scriptwriter for theatre, television and film. His play ''DNA'', first performed in 2007, became a core set-text for GCSE in 2010 and has been studied by approximately 400,000 students each year. He wrote the book ...

; Wisconsin:

Jared Abbrederis Jared Ryan Abbrederis (born December 17, 1990) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Wisconsin and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He was also a member of th ...

, Patrick Butrym, Antonio Fenelus,

Peter Konz Peter Konz (born June 9, 1989) is a former American football guard. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He played college football at Wisconsin. Early years Konz attended Neenah High School in Neenah, ...

Brad Nortman Brad Nortman (born September 12, 1989) is a former American football punter. He played college football at the University of Wisconsin. He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL Draft, making him the first pun ...

, Jacob Pedersen,

Ricky Wagner Richard Alexander Wagner (born October 21, 1989) is an American football offensive tackle who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at Wisconsin. Wagner has ...

. The following players were named by the media panel. HONORABLE MENTION: Illinois: Derek Dimke, Terry Hawthorne, Travon Wilson; Indiana: Mitch Ewald; Iowa: Mike Daniels, James Ferentz, Adam Gettis, Eric Guthrie, James Morris, Tyler Nielsen, Shaun Prater, Markus Zusevics; Michigan: Kenny Demens, J.T. Floyd, Kevin Koger,

Jordan Kovacs Jordan David Kovacs (born June 12, 1990) is a former American football safety who is currently an assistant linebackers coach for the Cincinnati Bengals. He was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2013. He played college fo ...

, Taylor Lewan, Craig Roh, Fitzgerald Toussaint, Ryan Van Bergen; Michigan State: Le'Veon Bell, Max Bullough, Dan Conroy, Kirk Cousins,

Darqueze Dennard Darqueze Derrell Dennard (born October 10, 1991) is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He played college football at Michigan State and was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Dennard ...

, Brian Linthicum, Chris McDonald, Chris Norman, Kevin Pickelman, Marcus Rush; Minnesota: Chris Bunders, Kim Royston; Nebraska: Mike Caputo, Austin Cassidy, Will Compton, Ben Cotton, Marcel Jones, Cameron Meredith, Daimion Stafford, Baker Steinkuhler; Northwestern:

Kain Colter Theodis Kain Colter is a former American football player who played multiple positions for the Northwestern Wildcats football, Northwestern Wildcats, mostly as a quarterback and wide receiver. Colter is also a co-founder of the College Athletes P ...

, Jordan Mabin, Brian Mulroe, Al Netter, Dan Persa; Ohio State: C.J. Barnett, Mike Brewster, Johnathan Hankins, Jack Mewhort, Tyler Moeller, Andrew Norwell, Jake Stoneburner, Andrew Sweat; Penn State: Drew Astorino, Quinn Barham, Jack Crawford, Jordan Hill, D'Anton Lynn, Chima Okoli, Chaz Powell, Nate Stupar, Johnnie Troutman; Purdue: Ricardo Allen, Dwayne Beckford, Joe Holland, Dennis Kelly, Carson Wiggs; Wisconsin: Jared Abbrederis, Patrick Butrym, Aaron Henry, Brad Nortman, Nick Toon, Ricky Wagner, Philip Welch.

National Award Winners

* David Molk, Michigan –

* Whitney Mercilus, Illinois –

First Team All-Americans

There are many outlets that award All-America honors in football. The NCAA uses five official selectors to also determine Consensus and Unanimous All-America honors. The five teams used by the NCAA to compile the consensus team are from the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

, the AFCA, the

FWAA The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media ou ...

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

and the

Walter Camp Football Foundation The Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF) is one of the organizations whose College Football All-America Team is recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The organization also presents various awards. It is named in honor of foo ...

. A point system is used to calculate the consensus honors. The point system consists of three points for first team, two points for second team and three points for third team. No honorable mention or fourth team or lower are used in the computation. The teams are compiled by position and the player accumulating the most points at each position is named a Consensus All-American. If there is a tie at a position in football for first team then the players who are tied shall be named to the team. A player named first-team by all five of the NCAA-recognized selectors is recognized as a Unanimous All-American.

Academic All-American

The Big Ten led all conferences with 7

Academic All-America The Academic All-America program is a student-athlete recognition program. The program selects an honorary sports team composed of the most outstanding student-athletes of a specific season for positions in various sports—who in turn are giv ...

selections: 1st team – Rex Burkhead (Nebraska), Austin Cassidy (Nebraska), Patrick Ward (Northwestern) and Joe Holland (Purdue); 2nd team – Mike Sadler (Michigan State), Sean Fisher (Nebraska) and Jacob Schmidt (Northwestern). Cassidy was one of four repeat first-team winners, while Holland was a 2010 second-team selection.

Bowl games

2012 NFL Draft

The conference lost 4 players in the first round of the NFL Draft: A total of 41 Big Ten players were drafted.

Head coaches

Ron Zook Ronald Andrew Zook (; born April 28, 1954) is an American football coach and former player who currently serves as the Defensive Coordinator of the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL. He was the head football coach at the University of Florida from ...

and

Vic Koenning Victor Emanuel Koenning Jr. (born February 26, 1960) is a former professional American football player, and current defensive coordinator at Louisiana–Monroe. He was the interim head coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 20 ...

(for bowl game), Illinois *

Kevin R. Wilson Kevin Reece Wilson (born October 23, 1961) is an American football coach and former player who currently serves as the head coach at the University of Tulsa. He will continue to serve as the offensive coordinator at Ohio State Buckeyes football, ...

, Indiana *

Kirk Ferentz Kirk James Ferentz (born August 1, 1955) is an American football coach. He is the current head football coach at the University of Iowa, a position he has held since the 1999 season. From 1990 to 1992, Ferentz was the head football coach at the ...

, Iowa *

Brady Hoke Brady Patrick Hoke (; born November 3, 1958) is an American football coach in his second stint as the head coach at San Diego State University. He was previously the head coach at the University of Michigan from 2011 to 2014. Hoke grew up in O ...

, Michigan *

Mark Dantonio Mark Justin Dantonio (born March 9, 1956) is a former American football coach and player. He most recently served as the head football coach at Michigan State University, a position he had held from 2007 to 2019, presiding over one of the most ...

, Michigan State *

Jerry Kill Gerald R. Kill (born August 24, 1961) is an American football coach. He is currently the head coach at New Mexico State University. He played college football at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas from 1979 to 1982. Kill served as the head ...

, Minnesota *

Bo Pelini Mark Anthony "Bo" Pelini (born December 13, 1967) is a former American football coach and former player. He was most recently the defensive coordinator for the Louisiana State University Tigers football team. He is the younger brother of forme ...

, Nebraska *

Pat Fitzgerald Patrick William Fitzgerald Jr. (born December 2, 1974) is the current head coach of the Northwestern University Wildcats football team. He was selected after the unexpected death of Randy Walker and announced at a press conference on July 7, 2 ...

, Northwestern *

Luke Fickell Luke Joseph Fickell (born August 18, 1973) is an American football coach and former player. He will be the head coach for the Wisconsin Badgers starting in December 2022. Previously he was the head football coach at the University of Cincinnati, ...

, Ohio State *

Joe Paterno Joseph Vincent Paterno (; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions football, Penn ...

(first nine games) and Tom Bradley (last three games), Penn State *

Danny Hope Charles Daniel Hope (born January 7, 1959) is an American football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach at Eastern Kentucky University from 2003 to 2007, and Purdue University from 2009 to 2012, compiling a career colle ...

, Purdue *

Bret Bielema Bret Arnold Bielema (; born January 13, 1970) is currently the head American football coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Bielema served as the head football coach at of the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 2006 to 2012 ...

, Wisconsin

was fired as head coach of the

Penn State Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The interco ...

on November 9 in the wake of the

Penn State sex abuse scandal The Penn State child sex abuse scandal concerned allegations and subsequent convictions of child sexual abuse committed by Jerry Sandusky, an assistant coach for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team, over a period of at least fifteen years ...

. Defensive coordinator Tom Bradley was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season.