PISCATAWAY — Rutgers University's move to the Big Ten isn't just about sports.

Entry into the athletic conference is also expected to come with a coveted invitation into the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, the academic arm of the Big Ten. Outside of sports, the consortium of top research universities — which includes University of Michigan, Penn State and Ohio State — harnesses its collective power to jointly negotiate contracts and share resources.

For Rutgers students, that could mean access to other schools’ courses, study abroad programs and libraries. For Rutgers researchers, it could mean joint research projects with other Big Ten members. Joining the club could also mean big savings for Rutgers on software licensing, library purchasing, insurance and other expenses.

Carousel-Rutgers-Sports-Logo.jpg

MORE COVERAGE OF RUTGERS FOOTBALL



• Big Ten welcomes Rutgers as newest member of nation's richest conference

• Joining Big Ten could also bring Rutgers big academic benefits

• Politi: By joining Big Ten, Rutgers did better than any school in college realignment

• Rutgers to join Big Ten: Top 5 things you need to know

• Big Ten switch could make Rutgers a recruiting 'powerhouse' in football

• Rutgers Sports stories and columns

Rutgers President Robert Barchi said the university is expecting an invitation from the provosts of the other Big Ten schools to join the consortium.

"We certainly hope that they will extend us an invitation. That’s the intention that was expressed," Barchi said. "What it means is opportunities for increased research and collaboration between the institutions."

The Committee on Institutional Cooperation — known as the CIC — dates back to 1958. It was designed to bring together the Big Ten schools outside of sports.

The group includes all of the Big Ten schools and the University of Chicago, one of the original members of the conference before it withdrew in 1946. Based in Illinois, the CIC has a small staff that coordinates cooperation between the schools.

In academic terms, the 13 current CIC schools are a formidable group. They collectively award 15 percent of the nation’s doctoral degrees. When they come together, the universities have the ability to make deals and negotiate lower prices for services and big purchases.

In recent years, the member schools have saved $5.5 million on commodities and services and $6.5 million on library purchasing and licensing, CIC officials said. The consortium has also joined together to make a deal with Google to digitize its library books and started OmniPoP,a high-speed fiber optic network collaboration.

University of Maryland officials, who announced they were joining the Big Ten earlier this week, said the academic benefits of joining the CIC were a large part of the reason they decided to make the change.

‘‘For me and for the board and for the faculty and for the students, the academic component is very, very important,’’ Wallace Loh, University of Maryland’s president, said Monday. ‘‘I would not have made this kind of deal if it was a conference that did not have this consortium.’’

For Rutgers, joining the CIC comes as the university is merging with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Rutgers’ governing boards approved the deal Monday. The merger, due to take place July 1, will bring two medical schools, a dental school and other health science schools under Rutgers’ umbrella.

All of the changes will ultimately mean more options for students to be part of cutting-edge research, said Barchi, the university’s president.

"Everything we do in research is an opportunity for our students," Barchi said. "Our students learn not only in the classroom, but they learn alongside our investigators, whether that investigation is an archeological dig or a history book or a research lab in a medical science building."

Follow @starledger

More Sports news