Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti: ‘Positive Feelings’ Around NCAA Tournament Expansion

Adding regular-season interest in the sport with league tournaments and more games against SEC opponents was also discussed.

Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti discussed NCAA tournament expansion at the league’s men’s basketball media day.  / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti dished on NCAA tournament expansion and new ways of driving interest in regular-season college basketball during the league’s men’s basketball media day Thursday. 

Petitti said there’s “positive feelings towards [NCAA tournament] expansion” throughout his league, joining a chorus of college sports leaders who’ve urged growing the event beyond 68 teams. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has discussed expansion for more than two years, while fellow power-conference commissioners Jim Phillips of the ACC and Brett Yormark of the Big 12 have also floated adding to the field.

The Big Ten’s boss, midway through his second year with the league, was light on specifics for a plan, saying he’d want to see details on seeding and how the first two days of the tournament would look. But Petitti did say Thursday that the league has had “a lot of conversations” with NCAA staff, including president Charlie Baker and SVP for basketball Dan Gavitt. 

As the Big Ten (led by Petitti) and the SEC (led by Sankey) continue to consolidate power at the top of the college sports landscape, Petitti pushed back on the notion the two leagues could break away and operate their own postseason. 

“We’re committed to the NCAA tournament the way it is,” Petitti said. “I know there has been talk about expansion in terms of adding teams, but other than that, the discussions in the Big Ten are about getting more teams in the NCAA tournament.” 

That said, as Petitti and Sankey prep for a meeting between the two leagues’ athletic directors and commissioners next week, Petitti expressed interest in more games played between the two leagues, and not just on the gridiron. 

“We’re focused on some of the things that have been reported around scheduling,” Petitti said. “I think there’s a real appetite from both leagues to play more, not just in football but in other sports. I think hopefully we’ll have some good, positive discussions in that direction next week.”

More games against SEC foes could be part of the Big Ten’s push to drive more regular-season interest in college basketball, a sport that competes with college football, the NFL and the rest of a crowded fall/winter sports calendar. Petitti wants to get “creative” and everything appears on the table, from conference challenges like the league used to have with the ACC to in-season league events. He even alluded to potentially replicating the early-season multi-team tournaments put on by third-party event companies at a league level. 

“I think there should be an evolution in creating events,” Petitti said. “You’ve seen in-season tournaments in the NBA. We should be creative about this and try to figure out how we generate more interest. There are a lot of nonconference events that are staged by others, I think we believe that we can do more and more of that ourselves and find ways to bring our teams together with others and play meaningful games throughout the season.”

And as the league prepares for its first basketball season as an 18-team, cross-country conference, Petitti once again emphasized that the appetite for more expansion right now doesn’t exist. 

“Right now, I can tell you that there’s just no discussions about it at all,” Petitti said.