| Big Ten Conference women's basketball tournament | |
|---|---|
| Sport | College basketball |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Number of teams | 14 |
| Format | Single-elimination tournament |
| Current stadium | Target Center |
| Current location | Minneapolis |
| Played | 1995–present |
| Last contest | 2024 |
| Current champion | Iowa Hawkeyes |
| Most championships | Purdue Boilermakers (9) |
| TV partner(s) | Peacock (first round) Big Ten Network CBS (final) ESPN (formerly) |
| Official website | BigTen.Org Women's Basketball |
The Big Ten Conference women's basketball tournament is held annually at the end of the women's college basketball regular season. The tournament has been played each year since 1995. The winner of the tournament is designated the Big Ten Tournament Champion, and receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA women's basketball tournament. The tournament is typically held the first week of March with games played Wednesday thru Sunday.
The Big Ten did not begin sponsoring women's basketball until the 1982–83 basketball season. In February 1982 during the 1981–82 season, the conference held a tournament at Michigan State in which Ohio State defeated Illinois 69–66 in the championship game. The conference has listed this in some publications as a regular season championship.
Maryland and Rutgers joined the Big Ten Conference for the 2014–15 season bringing the conference to 14 teams. The 2015 Big Ten Conference tournament was the first for each school, with Maryland winning its first tournament title in its debut season.
The Big Ten will expand to 18 teams for the 2024–25 season with the arrival of Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington.
Originally, Big Ten Network broadcast the first round, second round, quarterfinals and semifinals of the tournament, with the championship game on the ESPN family of networks. Starting in 2024, the first round will air on Peacock and the final will air on CBS.[1]