The term 'BIG TEN'S FIGHTING ILLINI' refers to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's athletic teams. The school is a member of the BIG TEN Conference, an NCAA Division I conference that consists of 14 universities located in the Midwestern United States. The nickname 'FIGHTING Illini' was adopted in the 1920s and is derived from the state's history of Native American tribes who were known for their fierce FIGHTING spirit.