It’s funny to think now, in the era of college football mega-conference realignment, that Maryland and Rutgers jumping to the Big Ten was somewhat of a surprise back in 2014. Those decrying the lack of geographical proximity were fighting a losing battle. 

The age of strict location-based conference identities is long gone. It’s all about big-city markets and network subscriptions. So what if that adds a few extra miles of travel along the way? 

Those extra miles add up over the course of a season. And while Big Ten travel is still relatively mild compared to other conferences like the Pac-12, that will soon change with the addition of USC and UCLA in 2024.

So much for those 30-minute flights to various Midwest campuses. Heavy travel schedules can definitely take a toll on college teams, and once 2024 rolls around the Trojans and Bruins will have to cross multiple time zones nearly every other week. That’s how it goes for the out-of-region newcomers, something Maryland and Rutgers have dealt with over the past decade. 

As we get ready for the start of the 2023 season, Bookies.com looked at the total number of aerial miles each Big Ten team will rack up over the course of all away games and neutral-site matchups in 2023. 

How Far Will Big 10 Teams Travel?

Maryland and Rutgers are used to being jet-lagged at this point, but which other teams will be racking up frequent flier miles? Conference championship  college football betting co-favorites Ohio State (+165) and Michigan (+165) are both on the lower end, but the Wolverines will have to adjust to heavy travel early in the year. 

The defending champs have a sketchy three-week stretch after opening with four straight home games. Michigan heads to Nebraska for a 1,352-mile trip Sep. 30, followed by a 1,024-mile trek to Minnesota Oct. 7. Keep that in mind ahead of the Oct. 14 home game with Indiana, where the point spread on betting apps might be a bit too high for a travel-weary squad. 

Ohio State should be well-rested all season as they never venture further than 1,000 miles from Columbus, averaging just 540 miles round trip over six away games in 2023. 

Wisconsin has the longest trip of any Big Ten team with a 2,751-mile trek to Washington State in Week 2, but the Badgers won’t have to go more than 620 miles at any point for the rest of the season. Iowa has the easiest travel schedule on paper, with the Hawkeyes listed at +1200 to win the conference. Of the five road trips for Iowa, four cover less than 550 miles round-trip. 

RELATED: Which SEC Team Will Travel The Most?

The Scarlet Knights will cover more distance than any other team in conference, racking up 5,991 miles over five road trips. Three of those trips are 1,200-plus miles, including an Oct. 7 date at Wisconsin (1,574 miles) and a Nov. 11 road game at Iowa (1,780 miles). 

Five Big Ten teams don’t have any trips longer than 1,200 miles, let alone three of them. 

Minnesota will be second in terms of miles traveled in 2023 at 5,279 total – nearly 50% of which will be completed after a Week 3 trip to Chapel Hill for a non-conference matchup with North Carolina. 

Maryland is third at 5,251 total miles, including a lengthy 2,102-mile haul to Nebraska in early November. And while the miles will add up for several teams toward the end of the season, these schedules will all seem mild a year from now when the Trojans and Bruins join the mix from the opposite side of the country.