WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
  • Tony Petitti said the Big Ten has held no expansion discussions and remains focused on its 18 members.
  • The Protect College Sports Act would cap conference membership at 20 teams and passed the U.S. Senate 77-22 in September.
  • Petitti said a proposed 24-team College Football Playoff likely would create more opportunities and encourage better nonconference scheduling.
  • The commissioner emphasized the need for a CFP financial plan that “makes everybody whole.”

The Big Ten has held no discussions about further expansion, Commissioner Tony Petitti said Thursday at the conference’s basketball media days in Rosemont, Illinois. His comments came as the proposed Protect College Sports Act could permit the conference to add two members.

The Big Ten currently has 18 members, while the bill would cap conference membership at 20 teams. Despite that potential room, Petitti said expansion has not been a subject of recent conference discussions.

Petitti said the Big Ten is “aggressively supporting” the legislation, but there have been “absolutely no discussions taking place around expansion, and there haven't been for quite some time.” Instead, the conference is concentrating on its current membership.

“This conference has got 18 strong members,” Petitti said. “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.”

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The Protect College Sports Act passed the U.S. Senate 77-22 in September and would go next to the House of Representatives. Along with limiting conferences to 20 teams, the bill would establish conditions for schools changing leagues.

Under the proposal, any school seeking to move from one Power 4 conference to another would be required to spend three years without a conference affiliation before joining its new league. Petitti expressed optimism that the legislation will pass the House.

The Big Ten’s latest expansion brought USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington into the conference from the original Pac-12. All four officially joined in 2024, following the earlier additions of Nebraska, Rutgers and Maryland during the 2010s.

Petitti said the proposed legislation addresses “core things” involving eligibility and transfer rules that could help college sports reach “a cleaner system” of operation. He also discussed athletes using legal avenues to establish their eligibility.

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The commissioner said he respects athletes who pursue legal means to become eligible and noted that several Big Ten athletes have taken that approach. However, he said returning to college after competing in a professional league crosses a line.

“We've just got to go to a cleaner system that allows us to compete nationally and just slows down all that,” Petitti said. “The bill isn't going to stop every possible thing. That's not what it's intended to do.”

Petitti continued by outlining several areas he believes the legislation would address. “In areas like eligibility, transfer, legislating litigation around NIL, states trying to come over the top of the system, and the settlement, this will clean all that up, and so that's really critical.”

The commissioner also discussed the proposed 24-team College Football Playoff. That format would eliminate the Big Ten championship game, but it likely would create more playoff opportunities for teams from the conference.

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According to Petitti, Big Ten coaches do not believe a setup in which some teams play in a conference title game while others wait for playoff spots is “the best football thing” to do. He tied the conference’s approach to qualifying for the CFP.

“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.”

Petitti said a 24-team CFP also would encourage Big Ten programs to arrange better non-conference games at the beginning of the season. National champion Indiana and other conference teams have faced criticism for schedules without Power 4 non-conference opponents.

“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.”

Petitti offered limited comments about the CFP’s negotiating window with ESPN, which was set to expire Friday. He emphasized the need for a financial plan that “makes everybody whole” as the process continues.

“ESPN's got some more time in the window, and if we get out of that window for some reason, then we will make a decision about what comes next,” Petitti said.

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