Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren open to further expansion

Kevin Warren only added to the notion that further conference expansion could be on the table with his opening remarks at Big Ten media days Tuesday. #B1G

Big Ten media days kicked off on Tuesday, and everyone was anxious to get Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren’s reaction after the news of the league adding UCLA and USC of the Pac-12.

For his part, Warren did not disappoint. In fact, rather than calm anyone’s fears about further expansion, the commish left the door wide open for further expansion if everything lined up to benefit the conference.

“I get asked every single day, what’s next?” Warren remarked during his opening of Big Ten football media days. “It may include future expansion, but it will be done for the right reasons, at the right time, with our student-athletes’ academic and athletic empowerment at the center of any and all decisions that we will make. We will not expand just to expand. It will be strategic, it will add additional value to our conference.”

It’s clear that college football is going through some of the most transformational changes it ever has in its existence. With the news of Texas and Oklahoma SEC last offseason, and now the two main L.A. market teams heading to the Big Ten, in combination with Name, Image, and Likness, the potential of College Football Playoff expansion, and transfer rules, it’s hard to keep up.

There’s little doubt that we’ve seen the end of all that’s going on, and that includes further conference expansion. And with the Big Ten leading the way in revenue, and with a new media deal close to coming together, Warren and the conference he’s leading is holding a lot of the high-value cards to lay down when the time comes.

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