Park Ridge, IL (Sports Network) - It didn't take long for the Big Ten to accept the University of Nebraska's application into the conference.

A short time after Nebraska's Board of Regents voted unanimously to file an application to join the Big Ten Conference, the Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors (COP/C) announced their unanimous approval.

The move comes into effect on July 1, 2011, as Nebraska will start competing in all sports beginning with the 2011-12 academic year.

"We believe Nebraska is an extraordinary fit, reflecting the criteria we established at the beginning of the process - high academic quality, competitiveness, cultural compatibility and fiscal responsibility," said COP/C chair and Michigan State President Lou Anna K. Simon.

Nebraska's board concluded a partially closed door meeting Friday afternoon where the decision was made to leave the Big 12 -- the second such conference member to do so in as many days following Colorado's departure for the Pac-10.

The decision by Nebraska will likely trigger a domino effect with the Pac-10 reportedly set to construct a mega-expansion to 16 teams. Several league sources had indicated earlier in the week that retaining Nebraska was the key to keeping the Big 12 afloat.

The Pac-10 is rumored to be mulling invitations to a handful of Big 12 schools, including marquee members Texas and Oklahoma.

Nebraska chancellor Harvey Perlman explained discussions were undertaken within the Big 12 to gauge how to keep the conference intact. He revealed that both Colorado and Missouri indicated their wishes to leave the league and that the Pac-10 had made an offer to the six teams from the south division of the Big 12.

Perlman went on to reveal that the six south division teams -- Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Baylor -- could make no commitment to the conference if Missouri and Colorado both left. It was then that the decision to seek out the Big Ten Conference was made.

"In geography, we sit here with not a lot of options. We were facing two possible departures and we reached out to our friends in the Big Ten to see what options we had," Perlman said.

"They (the Big 12) gave all the members of the conference an ultimatum. They needed an unequivocal agreement (to remain intact) through at least 2016, and I felt my obligation was to protect the university from the vulnerability of not having a conference."

The Big Ten had also been rumored to be interested in adding teams from the Big East, and initially Missouri, although that idea has seemed to lose steam.

Nebraska is the 12th member of the conference and first new addition since Penn State took up membership in 1990. The other schools include Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Purdue, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois and Minnesota.

"We look forward to joining an extraordinary group. I believe Nebraska will be better for joining the Big Ten and the Big Ten will be a stronger conference with the addition of Nebraska," Nebraska president James B. Milliken stated.

"The Big Ten conference is a great fit. This is an exciting development. I think very highly of the Big 12 and Nebraska has experienced great success. However, change is inevitable."