Northwestern University is the only private college of the Big Ten Conference.
Big Ten Conference . The conference includes the flagship public university in each of 11 states stretching from New Jersey to Nebraska , as well as two additional public land grant schools and a private university . Northwestern University , one of just two full members with a total enrollment of fewer than 30,000 students ( the other is the University of Nebraska -- Lincoln ) , is the lone private university among Big Ten membership ( the University of Chicago , a private university , left the conference in 1946 ) . Northwestern University ( NU ) is a private research university based in Evanston , Illinois , with campuses in Chicago , Illinois , and Doha , Qatar , and academic programs/facilities in Washington , D.C. , and San Francisco , California . Northwestern is a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and remains the only private university in the conference . The Northwestern Wildcats compete in 19 intercollegiate sports in the NCAA 's Division I Big Ten Conference .