Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren Addresses Potential Further Expansion

Speaking at the conference’s media days, the commissioner didn’t rule out additional expansion in the coming years.

Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren addressed the idea of further expansion in the conference Tuesday.

Warren addressed the topic during the opening press conference of Big Ten media days. He says he plans to take a measured, but aggressive approach to possibly adding new schools in the future.

“Regarding expansion, … it may include future expansion. But it will be done for the right reasons, at the right time,” Warren said, per SI’s Pat Forde. “We will not expand just to expand. We will be strategic.”

“We will not expand just to expand. We will be strategic.”

— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) July 26, 2022

Warren’s remarks come on the heels of the Big Ten’s blockbuster acquisition of USC and UCLA late last month. The two Pac-12 programs will make their departure official in 2024 and contribute to creating a coast-to-coast Big Ten conference.

The stunning move from the Trojans and the Bruins also opened the floodgates to a flurry of rumors about additional expansion. According to Laine Higgins of The Wall Street Journal, the Big Ten has reportedly been contacted by 10 schools informally to seek a potential jump to the conference. 

While Warren did not specifically acknowledge that report, he made clear that he plans to be “aggressive” and “bold” when continuing to build out the Big Ten that he wants to see in the future.

“Where expansion goes? I don’t know. … I’m embracing change,” Warren explained, per Forde. “I’m going to be very aggressive. We want to be aggressive in how we build this. We’re in a stage of probably a five-year period of change.”