In America's heartland is a conference with historic tradition -- 29 national championships in men's college swimming. It is the winningest conference in history.

On the contrary, the Big Ten boasts significantly less history on the women's side. There are no national titles to its name. A women's Big Ten team has come as close as second but never finished atop the final rankings.

Although this year might not produce a national title, the Big Ten is building an impressive resume. Championships aside, here's a look at why the conference is something to reckon with on the national stage this season -- in both men's and women's competition.

Indiana Hoosiers

WOMEN: Indiana's ​Lilly King​ is not only queen of Big Ten swimming, but she is also the conference's top female athlete. After another successful summer internationally, King is poised to sweep the conference and national championships in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes.

King is already the fastest woman in history and unless something unthinkable happens, she will lower her breaststroke records yet again. The Hoosiers have lofty goals on the women's side and King is a major piece.

"With our women, we are looking to move into the NCAA top-six ranking level and contend to win medley relays," head coach ​Ray Looze​ said.

MEN: Featuring a veteran group led by Olympian ​​Blake Pieroni​, the Indiana men's team has similar goals.

"We look to move into the NCAA top four and contend to win several NCAA individual titles," Looze said.

It's reasonable to think that is possible. The Hoosiers return Pieroni, the top contender to upset Texas' ​Townley Haas​ in the 200 free, and leading breaststroker ​Ian Finnerty​. ​Vini Lanza​ isn't far from the top in events that are open for the taking, either.

Indiana's stars are the team's biggest strength. Although the Hoosiers also have depth, that is where the Michigan Wolverines take the slight edge -- at least for the women.

Michigan Wolverines

WOMEN: Michigan returns ​G Ryan​ and ​Rose Bi​ to carry the distance and ​Siobhan Haughey​ in the sprints/mid-distance events. Haughey is coming off a summer that included a finals swim at the World Championships. Michigan coach ​Mike Bottom​ sees her improving even more.

"It was awesome to see her and so many others excel on the international stage," Bottom said. "From a technical side, we're going to work on her underwaters, her breakouts, her dive. If we can do that, with the kind of success she's had in the past, I think she'll transition very well."

Bottom isn't afraid to make adjustments if it means a better chance at success. The Wolverine women are the favorite to compete on a national scale and take the conference title for the third year running.

"Every team wants to win the Big Ten championship and that's certainly our goal," Bottom said. "On the women's side, we feel that we have a very strong team. On the men's side, we're an underdog and have a lot of points to make up."

MEN: Michigan fell well short of Indiana last year, but an elite group of seniors mixed with underclassmen will close the gap a bit on the Hoosiers. Michigan's sophomore class, led by Austrian ​Felix Auböck​, contributes greatly in multiple disciplines: Auböck in distance freestyle, ​Jacob Montague​ in breaststroke, and ​Charlie Swanson​ in the 400 IM all score big points.

The group becomes even more well rounded when seniors ​Paul Powers​ and ​PJ Ransford​ are tossed into the mix.

"Our seniors understand that this is about a team," Bottom said. "But the sophomores, that's the class that's going to be lighting the fire under everyone. They carry the torch of enthusiasm and excitement that they lit last year as freshmen."

Aubӧck could realistically break 14:20 in the mile and 4:08 in the 500 to become the fastest ever in both. Ultimately Bottom says his goal is to just keep getting faster. If that happens Michigan will have a legitimate chance to win the conference title.

Minnesota Golden Gophers

WOMEN: Another team that has made some noise is Minnesota behind head coach ​Kelly Kremer​. The Gopher women are starting the year ranked 12th, one spot lower than the Hoosiers.

"We felt good last year but it would've helped to stay healthy," Kremer said. "We have as good of a roster as we could put together. The goal is to be the team we are capable of being."

Brooke Zeiger​, as a part of very competitive group, will contend for the championship in the mile. ​Danielle Nack​ and ​Tevyn Waddell​, who are nearing contributions on a national level, will undoubtedly impact the Big Ten scores.

Returning breaststroker Lindsey (Horejsi) Kozelsky​ is another swimmer coming off an eventful summer. Kozelsky will score a boatload of points even though she'll come up short against King.

"Lindsay got married over the summer so there was a lot of excitement going on in her life," Kremer said. "She did a great job of training throughout all of that. Her goals are as high as they can be."

MEN: Kremer has high hopes for the women's team and is looking to make a jump on the men's side.

"It seems like we've finished fourth so many of the last years," he said. "I don't know if we can crack the top three, but there are lots of unknowns. I expect that we will improve."

At the top, the Gopher men are led by two swimmers, ​Conner McHugh​ and ​Bo Becker​. McHugh will go head to head with Michigan's Montague in the 200 breaststroke, while Becker has an uphill battle against UM's Powers in the sprints.

Kremer feels both McHugh and Becker are ready to take another step forward at NCAAs.

Honorable Mentions

Ohio State and Wisconsin are also in the conversation at the Big Ten's top half. Buckeye women's sprinter ​Zhesi (Liz) Li​ will finish ranked top three nationally in the 50 freestyle. Wisconsin's ​Cierra Runge will also make an impact in the women's distance events.

The Buckeyes men are ranked in the top 25 but don't have the depth they did last year to tie the Wolverines at the Big Ten Championships. Wisconsin took a big hit at graduation. The Penn State and Northwestern men's teams also lost key seniors from a year ago.

The conference season kicks off the first week of October with a matchup between Michigan State and Iowa.

---

The best swimming coverage. Straight to your inbox.

Don't miss breaking news, feature stories, event updates, and more. Sign up for the FloSwimming mailing list today.