Big Ten Commissioner: Future ‘May Include’ Further Expansion

Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren is open to more expansion in the Big Ten.

At Big Ten media days, the commissioner told reporters that he’s asked “every day” about whether the conference will consider adding even more schools. His response: The future “may include” further expansion.

“But it will be done for the right reasons at the right time,” he said.

Warren also elaborated as to why he sees the 2024 addition of USC and UCLA to the conference as a major plus.

The additions will add between 10% and 25% more of value to the conference’s media rights, as Front Office Sports previously reported. While Warren declined to give a specific number, he agreed the schools would add value. 

“They bring a lot of panache,” he said.

• He’s also excited that the conference now has teams in all three major media markets: New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
• In addition to upping its media rights value, these markets will open the conference up to increasingly lucrative corporate partnerships.
• He lauded the educational prowess of USC and UCLA.

As for the future, Warren said: “We are currently in a landscape in college athletics that is changing on a daily basis.” But he assures that “the Big Ten conference will not languish in bureaucracy.”