CHICAGO – Despite a free agency-type situation befalling Penn State’s football team, the majority of Big Ten coaches said Thursday they are not jumping at the chance to woo any Nittany Lions.

Among that majority is Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema, who said he decided not to contact any players and did not appear to be interested in talking to players that contacted him first.

“To bring someone in at this point so close to the season, I just wasn’t comfortable with it,” Bielema, who opens his team’s fall camp on Aug. 5, said.

Only Illinois explicitly indicated it had been actively pursuing Penn State players, while four schools said they would only act if a player contacted the school first. Purdue head coach Danny Hope said he would “exercise every opportunity” to enhance the Boilermakers’ program.

“I’m not casting doubt on anybody or questioning anything, but we made a decision that we would not actively pursue any Penn State players,” Bielema continued.

“I think one of the things that I’ve loved and appreciated about being in this conference is there is a genuine respect for everybody in our league that you are a Big Ten brother and you’re a guy that sits in our conference meeting room.”

The NCAA handed down unprecedented sanctions against Penn State Monday that included, among other penalties: a four-year postseason ban, a four-year reduction of scholarships and a $60 million fine for the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal.

As a result, the NCAA waived certain restrictions on transfers for Penn State players. From now until the beginning of the 2013 season, players can switch schools without having to sit out a year and Penn State cannot restrict contact between its athletes and other schools, according to the NCAA. Interested schools must inform PSU before communicating with players, however.

Illinois head coach Tim Beckman said he and his coaching staff visited State College, Penn., earlier in the week to speak with any interested players.

“We were in State College, but we did not go on campus,” Beckman, who later added he had informed Penn State of his intentions, said. “We went to two establishments outside campus and called some individuals and if they wanted to come by, it was their opportunity to come by.”

Under the special rules, players are required to inform Penn State of their interest in discussing transfer options with other schools. PSU head coach Bill O’Brien said none of his players have told him they plan to leave the program.

O’Brien, who attracted perhaps the largest media turnout during his press conference Thursday, spoke firmly on the subject.

“I have no idea what schools were on campus, nor do I care,” he said.

Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald and Michigan head coach Brady Hoke did not express any interest in courting PSU players, although Hoke did admit to looking at Penn State’s roster “to some degree.”

Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said he had a “problem” with coaches talking to the players and that he was not even interested in learning the transfer rules in place.

“You’re getting into a situation that I’m not quite very familiar with, and we’re not going to get very familiar with it,” Meyer said.

Head coaches of Indiana, Michigan State and Nebraska said they would entertain inquiries from players who contacted them first. Minnesota’s Jerry Kill said the program would “do the proper procedures” if contacted by a player first while Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz passed on offering a specific position on the matter.

MSU’s Mark Dantonio declined to offer who or how many Nittany Lions have expressed interest in joining the Spartans.

“I’m here just to create opportunities, but we’re not going to invest in going beyond that,” he said. “I want to do this with respect to Penn State… but at the same time we do have a job to do.”