College football expansion: Big Ten makes decision on future realignment

After the bombshell vote to add USC and UCLA, a look at where the Big Ten stands in future football conference realignment

The story of the offseason once again has been what the next phase of college football conference realignment and league expansion could look like, with rumors flying in all directions and reports of teams wanting to make a move. Where does the Big Ten stand in the process? New conference commissioner Tony Petitti seems happy with where things are right now.

"All the direction I'm getting from leadership — our presidents and chancellors and our athletic directors — is to focus on USC and UCLA," he said in his opening remarks from the 2023 Big Ten Media Days.

Related: Big Ten football power rankings for 2023 season

Last offseason, the Big Ten announced a bombshell decision to add USC and UCLA to the conference in one of the sport's biggest-ever realignment moves, with the two Los Angeles-based schools slated to make it official before the 2024 football season.

"We have a lot of work to do there," Petitti said of the logistics involved. 

"I'm proud of the scheduling format we created in football. I think it touches on all the right things. But we have significant work to do in scheduling for our other sports, especially our Olympic sports, to come up with the best solutions." 

In the months since the Big Ten's expansion move, insiders have connected the league to several West Coast programs, most notably Oregon and Washington, whose reps reportedly spoke with B1G officials informally about the realignment landscape.

But nothing official has come from any of these reputed discussions and, for the moment, it appears the major players are content where they are.

With the notable exception being the Big 12, whose commissioner has been open about his conference interested in adding more members in the future.

As for the Big Ten, Petitti added, "We have a good plan in motion. I think we'll learn from it. Like anything, there'll be tweaks and changes. But overall, that's really where we are. I'm not getting direction to do anything else other than that in terms of what the conference looks like right now."

---

College football conference expansion rumor mill

Where the SEC stands on future realignment

Colorado reacts to Big 12 rumors

Finebaum on Big Ten's interest in 2 schools

Big 12 updates realignment plans

Every move that happened on July 1

Update on Notre Dame's future realignment plans

Big 12 rules out 1 team for realignment

SEC would consider 2 ACC schools

Big Ten scouts up 10 teams for expansion

Big 12 teases new expansion plans

Momentum on Colorado, Big 12 reunion

Seven ACC teams looking into options

ACC responds with bold plan amid expansion rumors

Finebaum predicts major conference could collapse

---

More college football from SI: Top 25 Rankings | Schedule | All Teams

Follow College Football HQ: Bookmark | Rankings | Picks