Big Ten Conference or Big Thug Conference?

A recent Fox Sports web post took a look at the various NCAA FBS college football teams in terms of the number of arrests that have taken place for each team over the past five years. And the numbers were pretty astounding. The school with the most arrests in the last five years is Washington State – with 31 arrests! That’s more than six a year.

Closer to home, our very own Big Ten conference is among the leaders in terms of the number of schools on the list. Out of the Big Ten’s current 14 members, nine of them find themselves among the most-arrested. Leading the way is the University of Iowa, with 18 arrests in the past five years – good for a tie at #12 with the University of Alabama and the University of Kentucky.

Michigan and Purdue are tied at #19, with 14 arrests each. Next come Nebraska and Ohio State with 12 arrests a piece, which places them tied at #26 in the country. Penn State comes in at #28 with 11 arrests, followed by Illinois (#39) with 9, and Indiana and Michigan State cracking the Top 50, as well, with 7 arrests each and tied at #49.

In total, those nine football programs have racked up 104 arrests in the past five years. That’s not including any arrests that may have taken place in the Big Ten’s five other football programs (Maryland, Minnesota, Northwestern, Rutgers and Wisconsin).

With numbers like that, perhaps the Big Ten should consider creating an annual “All Thug” team to go along with their other post-season awards…