BTN.com staff, December 1, 2011

For a fifth straight year, BTN will present the Big Ten Bowl Selection Special, with the 2011 edition at 8 p.m. ET Sunday night live from Chicago. Dave Revsine will host the show alongside Gerry DiNardo and Howard Griffith as they preview each Big Ten bowl matchup and discuss key post-season factors. Select coaches also will be interviewed during the 60-minute program.

Winners of 10 games each this season, Michigan State, representing the Legends Division, and Wisconsin, representing the Leaders Division, will compete Saturday in the in the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game. The Spartans and Badgers look to claim the Stagg Championship Trophy and a chance to represent the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl.  Both earned a share of the conference title in 2010.

Overall, the Big Ten saw 10 teams gain bowl eligibility, matching the conference record set in 2007 for most bowl berths in a single season. The 2011-12 bowl season marks the seventh straight year that seven or more Big Ten programs have earned postseason berths, the longest streak in conference history.  In addition to the division champions, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State and Purdue are poised to receive post-season invitations.

For the second consecutive year, the Big Ten?s postseason lineup features eight bowl tie-ins. In addition to the BCS Rose Bowl automatic bid, a Big Ten team may be selected as a BCS at-large participant if it has won at least nine regular-season games and is ranked among the top 14 teams in the final BCS standings.

The Big Ten?s eight bowl tie-ins include the following (find a more detailed list here):

Rose Bowl/BCS Automatic Bid                Jan. 2                      Pasadena, Calif.
Capital One Bowl                                           Jan. 2                      Orlando, Fla.
Outback Bowl                                                  Jan. 2                      Tampa, Fla.
Insight Bowl                                                    Dec. 30                   Tempe, Ariz.
Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl                       Jan. 2                       Jacksonville, Fla.
Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas             Dec. 31                    Houston, Texas
TicketCity Bowl                                             Jan. 2                       Dallas, Texas
Little Caesars Pizza Bowl                           Dec. 27                    Detroit, Mich.

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