Founded in 1896, the Big Ten Conference is a union of 11 academic institutions who share a common mission of research, graduate, professional and undergraduate teaching and public service. It offers various intercollegiate athletic programs. The conference s institutions and universities provide more than $100 million in direct financial aid to over 8,500 men and women student-athletes who compete for 25 championships, 12 for men and 13 for women. The Big Ten Conference sponsors broad-based athletic programs with more than 270 teams. The conference promotes basketball, volleyball, football, golf, gymnastics, cross-country, rowing, soccer, swimming and tennis. It organizes various championships and tournaments and also maintains record books. The Big Ten Conference is located in Columbus, Ohio.