environment was like at those times. For example, the Big Ten added the following schools to give the conference 2 members in the same state. Indiana (1899) Michigan State (1950) Remember the Western Conference (now known as the Big Ten) was formed in 1896 with 7 members. University of Chicago Illinois Michigan Minnesota Northwestern Purdue Wisconsin I think you would agree that the environment in 1896, 1899, and 1950 is a way different than the current environment. The same holds true for the SEC which formed in 1932. My point is that the "rules" back then allowed for conferences to add multiple members from the same state because conferences valued different things back then. Conferences were more regionalized because travel was a bigger factor than today. Also, the NCAA controlled the broadcasting rights. I can guarantee you that if the Big Ten and SEC were to form today, then it is unlikely either conference would see a need to add more than 1 member from a state because the conference's value is based more on the broadcasting rights and less on building regional rivalries. Now that isn't to say either conference could end up with a state (or two) with multiple members. It probably isn't states like IL (with 3), IN (with 2), maybe MI (2), TN (with 3), maybe GA (with 2), MS (with 2), LA (with 2), and maybe even AL (with 2).