Former Purdue All-American Otis Armstrong has been elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, it was announced on Tuesday. The former halfback, who starred from 1970-72, is the 13th Boilermaker to be chosen for enshrinement after finishing his career with a then-Big Ten career rushing yards record of 3,315. Some of his career achievements rank in the top 10 in program history, including his record 670 rushing attempts.

The Class of 2012 will be inducted at the 55th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 4 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. They inductees will be honored guests at the National Hall of Fame Salute at the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on Jan. 2, 2013, and will be officially enshrined in the summer of 2013.

Purdue Release

The Big Ten leads all conferences with nine student-athletes named to the watch list for the 2012 Lott IMPACT Trophy, honoring college football's defensive IMPACT player of the year with equal weight given to athletic performance and personal character. The Big Ten's list of nine nominees includes Ohio State defensive tackle John Simon, a semifinalist for last year's Lott Trophy, and Michigan safety Jordan Kovacs, a quarterfinalist for the 2011 honor. Other Big Ten standouts on the Lott Trophy watch list are Illinois linebacker Jonathan Brown, Michigan State linebacker Max Bullough, Nebraska defensive tackle Baker Steinkuhler, Penn State linebacker Gerald Hodges, Purdue defensive tackle Kawaan Short and Wisconsin linebackers Chris Borland and Mike Taylor. Big Ten players have claimed two of the last four Lott Trophies, with Buckeyes' linebacker James Laurinaitis honored in 2008 and Badgers' defensive end J.J. Watt chosen in 2010.

Big Ten football head coaches and student-athletes took part in the annual spring football teleconferences on Tuesday, April 10, and Wednesday, April 11, and audio for all 24 participants is now available by clicking on the below link:

Big Ten Spring Football Teleconference Audio

Coaches and student-athletes from the Legends Division took part in the first call on  April 10, a group that included Iowa's Kirk Ferentz and quarterback James Vandenberg, Michigan's Brady Hoke and safety Jordan Kovacs, Michigan State's Mark Dantonio and quarterback Andrew Maxwell, Minnesota's Jerry Kill and quarterback MarQueis Gray, Nebraska's Bo Pelini and running back Rex Burkhead and Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald and quarterback Kain Colter.

Coaches and student-athletes from the Leaders Division took part in the second call on April 11, a group that included Illinois' Tim Beckman and quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase, Indiana's Kevin Wilson and defensive tackle Larry Black, Jr., Ohio State's Urban Meyer and fullback Zach Boren, Penn State's Bill O'Brien and defensive tackle Jordan Hill, Purdue's Danny Hope and defensive tackle Kawann Short and Wisconsin's Bret Bielema and running back Montee Ball.

It's hard to think about football when you have such an exciting Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament underway.  But just in case you are, the Big Ten is promoting the 2012 Big Ten Football Championship Game on the concourse of Bankers Life Fieldhouse this week.

The 2012 Big Ten Football Championship Game will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium here in Indianapolis on Dec. 1, 2012.

Fans wandering the concourse can stop by the booth, learn more about the 2012 game, and even watch BTN/FOX Sports highlights of the inaugural Big Ten Football Championship Game, where Wisconsin defeated Michigan State, 42-39.

The Maxwell Football Club, the oldest football club in America, announced that University of Michigan head football coach Brady Hoke has been named its Collegiate Coach of the Year for the 2011 season. Hoke was named the 19th head coach in school history on Jan. 11, 2011. The former assistant coach at U-M (1995-2002) led the Wolverines to an 11-2 record (6-2 Big Ten) and Allstate Sugar Bowl victory in his first season. Nationally, Hoke became one of eight coaches to direct a team to a Bowl Championship Series (BCS) game in his first season, while he became the third coach to direct a team to a BCS victory in his first season. The Big Ten coaches voted Hoke as the recipient of the Hayes-Schembechler Coach of the Year award, while the Big Ten media named him the Dave McClain Coach of the Year. He was also named a finalist for three other national Coach of the Year awards: Bear Bryant, Eddie Robinson and Liberty Mutual. Hoke is the third Michigan coach to be honored by the Maxwell Football Club joining Lloyd Carr in 1997 and Bo Schembechler in 1989.

NaVorro Bowman, LB, San Francisco (Penn State) - Racked up 14 tackles and half of a sack in San Francisco's 23-20 overtime loss to the New York Giants in the NFC Championship Game.

Tom Brady, QB, New England (Michigan) - Threw for 239 yards on 22 of 36 passing and scored the game-winning touchdown on a one-yard rush in New England's 23-20 win over Baltimore in the AFC Championship Game.

Mario Manningham, WR, New York Giants (Michigan) - Caught a 17-yard touchdown pass to put New York ahead in the fourth quarter, helping the Giants earn a 20-17 overtime win over San Francisco.

Rob Ninkovich, LB, New England (Purdue) - Made seven tackles in New England's 23-20 win over Baltimore.

Bernard Pollard, S, Baltimore (Purdue) - Tied for the team lead with 12 tackles in Baltimore's 23-20 loss to New England.

Devin Thomas, WR, New York Giants (Michigan State) - Recovered two fumbles on special teams, including one on a punt return in overtime to put New York in position to convert on the game-winning field goal, in the Giants' 23-20 win over San Francisco.

NaVorro Bowman, LB, San Francisco (Penn State) - Racked up 11 tackles in San Francisco's 36-32 win over New Orleans.

Tom Brady, QB, New England (Michigan) - Threw for 363 yards and six touchdowns in New England's 45-10 win over Denver.

Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans (Purdue) - Completed 40 of 63 passes for 462 yards and four touchdowns in New Orleans' 36-32 loss to San Francisco.

Malcolm Jenkins, S, New Orleans (Ohio State) - Posted eight tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss in New Orleans' 36-32 loss to San Francisco.

Mario Manningham, WR, New York Giants (Michigan) - Caught three passes for 31 yards and a touchdown in the New York Giants' 37-20 win over Green Bay.

Rob Ninkovich, LB, New England (Purdue) - Recorded five tackles, including 1.5 sacks and a tackle for loss in New England's 45-10 win over Denver.

J.J. Watt, DE, Houston (Wisconsin) - Led the team with 12 tackles, three tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks in Houston's 20-13 loss to Baltimore.

Martez Wilson, LB, New Orleans (Illinois) - Notched three tackles, including 1.5 sacks in New Orleans' 36-32 loss to San Francisco.

The Big Ten and SEC were the only two conferences to feature at least three top 12 teams in both the final Associated Press (AP) and USA Today coaches polls released today. The Big Ten was also one of only three conferences to produce at least four top 25 teams in both final polls along with the SEC (five teams) and Big 12 (four).

Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin each appeared among the top 10 in one of the final national rankings. The Big Ten Champion Badgers were ranked No. 10 in the AP poll and No. 11 in the coaches vote. The Spartans, the Legends Division and Outback Bowl Champions, were rated No. 11 by the media and No. 10 by the coaches. The Wolverines, winners of the Sugar Bowl, were ranked No. 12 in the AP poll and No. 9 in the USA Today rankings.

The Big Ten ended the season with three teams rated among the top 10 for the second time in three seasons and the fifth time in the last 10 years. Wisconsin ends the year among the top 10 for the second straight season after ranking No. 7/8 (AP/USA Today) in the final polls of the 2010 campaign. Michigan State concludes the year among the top 10 for the first time since ranking No. 7 in both final polls of the 1999 season. Michigan ends the year as a top-10 squad for the first time since rating No. 8/9 to conclude the 2006 campaign.

Five Big Ten teams received votes in the final poll, with Nebraska wrapping up its first Big Ten season ranked No. 24 by both the media and coaches. Penn State received votes in both final polls.

Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans (Purdue) - Threw for 466 yards and three touchdowns on 33 of 43 passing in New Orleans' 45-28 win over Detroit.

Mario Manningham, WR, New York Giants (Michigan) - Caught four passes for 68 yards and a touchdown in the New York Giants' 24-2 win over Atlanta.

Tracy Porter, CB, New Orleans (Indiana) - Led the team with seven tackles in New Orleans' 45-28 win over Detroit.

Amari Spievey, S, Detroit (Iowa) - Made seven tackles in Detroit's 45-28 loss to New Orleans.

Pierre Thomas, RB, New Orleans (Illinois) - Rushed for 66 yards and a touchdown on eight carries and added six catches for 55 yards in New Orleans' 45-28 win over Detroit.

J.J. Watt, DE, Houston (Wisconsin) - Returned an interception 29 yards for a touchdown and added two tackles and a sack in Houston's 31-10 win over Cincinnati.

Over the last three seasons, Illinois and Iowa have each won two bowl games, while Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin have each claimed one bowl victory.

The Big Ten and SEC are the only conferences in the nation with nine current members claiming at least one bowl win over the last three seasons.

Big Ten teams have a long tradition of bowl success, as Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State and Penn State are four of 11 teams in the nation that have played in 41 or more bowl games in their programs' history.