Will The Big Ten Expand Further? Kevin Warren Weighs In

College football is engaged in an arms race the likes of which we've never seen.

Whether its recruiting, Name Image and Likeness, the transfer portal, conference expansion or anything else, it feels like the biggest programs and the most powerful conferences in the country have separated themselves even further from their competition.

The Big Ten is clearly one of the two most prolific leagues in college sports and they're on the precipice of a new media rights deal in excess of $1 billion. Certainly, the Ohio State Buckeyes have a lot to do with the conference's visibility. But the addition of USC and UCLA was a bold move that showed the rest of college athletics the Big Ten is going to be a power-player for a long time.

But with conference realignment seemingly a constant conversation, Kevin Warren was asked if the league would continue to expand.

Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren updating plans for further expansion. Did not rule it out but says: We will not expand just to expand. @SpectrumNews1OH pic.twitter.com/IDgU7fCBxK
— Tino Bovenzi (@TinoBovenzi) July 26, 2022

"I get asked every single day, what's next?" he said. "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."

Perhaps the most notable thing Warren said Tuesday? The league "will not languish in bureaucracy."

"It is important for all of us in business to recognize that we're in a time of change. I think there's two types of people in the world: They look at change as it's a problem, or they look at change as an opportunity. And I'm one of those individuals that when change occurs, I get excited about it. And then it really is an opportunity for us to do a lot of things that people have thought about, but maybe have been a little bit reticent to do."

Warren also said USC and UCLA will be fully fledged members of the league right away and will have their full entitled share of the conference revenue. He's excited by the prospect of Big Ten alumni living on the west coast and the support they'll show those schools after he learned many years ago the largest contingent of Big Ten alums not based in the Midwest were actually based in Southern California.

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