Could Big Ten Championships be Moving West?

The Big Ten Conference now stretches from coast to coast, so will some league championships, including football, move to new locations that are easier on the new members?

Jul 23, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti speaks to the media during the Big 10 football media day at Lucas Oil Stadium. / Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports

Big Ten Conference fans may need to get used to new sites for league championships.

"You can fully expect that over time you'll see the footprint of how we host championships change and grow."

- Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti

Commissioner Tony Petitti during Q&A at the start of Big Ten Football Media Days in Indianapolis indicated that some championship events could see new homes in the future.

"Given the footprint of the conference, the cities that are now interested in hosting Big Ten Championships is clearly expanded," Petitti said.

Nebraska baseball poses with the Big Ten Champions banner after winning the 2024 league tournament in Omaha. / Amarillo Mullen

Could football be one of those with a new championship location?

"We're really comfortable with the decision to stay, in football, here in Indianapolis for the next four seasons," Petitti said. "We think it's the right thing to do. Having said that, I think you're gonna see us begin to expand."

The Big Ten has added four teams from the west coast, making some non-rotating locations more difficult on the new members. Football, in particular, has been at Lucas Oil Stadium since the game's inception in 2011.

"I think it's really important to make sure that markets around the country get to experience Big Ten Championships," Petitti said. "It's a really good way to connect the conference, so I think over time you'll start to see the geographic footprint start to expand."

Dec 2, 2023; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Michigan Wolverines celebrate after winning the Big Ten Championship game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Lucas Oil Stadium. / Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports

Besides football, the baseball championship has been in Omaha every year since 2017. That seems unlikely to change. The basketball tournament has bounced around from Washington, D.C. to New York to Indianapolis to Chicago to Minnesota. That seems likely to get some west coast love. But plenty of others rotate, including softball and track and field. Expect those to get west before football or baseball do.

Petitti did acknowledge that during the regular-season, extra travel is necessary for every school.

"First, I think it's really important to understand that every sport is different," Petitti said. "Every sport's got it own regular-season format; it's own post-season format within the Big Ten. The process of building the schedules is collaborative. We've taken a lot of care to try to minimize travel where we can. We feel really good about where we've ended up across all of our sports.

"Having said that, I really believe that scheduling is something that has to be constantly evaluated by sport. I anticipate that we'll get a lot more right these next couple years with the way we've formatted and scheduled. While we feel really good about the work that we've done this summer, I anticipate there will be changes."

As of now, the wait is on to see which major Big Ten Championship heads to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Seattle, or elsewhere in the Pacific Time Zone.

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