The Big Ten is done growing for now.
Commissioner Tony Petitti said Thursday, Oct. 8, that the conference is not planning to open expansion talks in the near future, keeping the league at 18 members after a run of major additions in recent years. The Big Ten has been connected repeatedly to programs such as Notre Dame, North Carolina, Virginia and others, but Petitti made it clear the current focus is internal.
“This conference has got 18 strong members,” Petitti said at Big Ten Basketball Media Days, per ESPN. “We’re focused on that. There’s lots of things that we think we can do inside the conference to continue to grow the position that we have with the 18 members.”
The league’s last expansion wave came in 2024, when USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington arrived from the old Pac-12. Before that, Nebraska, Maryland and Rutgers joined during the 2010s.
While the Big Ten appears settled on its current footprint, Petitti pointed to the College Football Playoff as the bigger piece of the sport’s future. The CFP is still considering a jump to 24 teams or more, and Petitti said giving more schools access to that stage should be the goal.
“The definition of success in college football is qualifying for the CFP,” Petitti said. “That is the clear definition. So what we’re focused on is giving more programs a chance to have that level of success.”
He also said the sport’s schedule could get more competitive if the playoff expands.
“The season is going to start way better than it does. We’re committed to that,” Petitti said.
“We get the 24-team playoff, you’re going to see many more competitive games scheduled. We don’t need to say we’ll do it.
We’ll actually commit to doing it and working.”