Kevin Warren Reveals If The Big Ten Will Keep Expanding
It sounds like the Big Ten is potentially interested in aggressive expansion.
The Big Ten stunned the world of college sports when the conference stole USC and UCLA from the PAC-12.
When the Bruins and Trojans join the B1G in 2024, it will mark a new era of college sports nobody saw coming. For people who thought that's where expansion would end, you're going to be in for some disrupting news!
Will more teams join the Big Ten? (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
During an interview with Bryant Gumbel, commissioner Kevin Warren revealed he sees a future where the conference expands to 20 teams.
"I could see perpetual and future growth," Warren explained. That comment would seem to indicate 20 teams could be the floor and not the ceiling.
He also indicated there could be a time when paying athletes is something the conference pursues.
The Big Ten is in an open arms race against the SEC for complete control of the college landscape, and after scoring an unprecedented media deal, the B1G seems to have the advantage for the time being.
Clearly, Warren isn't interested in ever losing that advantage. One of the biggest ways to make sure the B1G continues to take and hold ground is to expand the conference's footprint.
Kevin Warren suggests the Big Ten could have at least 20 teams. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
USC and UCLA brought in California and the West Coast, but there's now a very good chance the conference looks at new targets.
The number one goal had been Notre Dame. However, the Fighting Irish seem content for the time being.
Will Notre Dame eventually join the Big Ten? (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
That means the Big Ten could target Stanford, Oregon, Washington or Cal. Those teams all make sense and acquiring Stanford - a rival of Notre Dame - might entice the Fighting Irish to eventually join.
Oregon could be a target for the Big Ten. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
The B1G could also look to some ACC squads like UNC, Florida State or Virginia. The only issue with targeting ACC teams is nobody knows what breaking the grant of rights would actually mean.
Will the Big Ten target ACC teams? (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
No matter what happens going forward, it's crystal clear the Big Ten isn't done expanding just yet. That should terrify rivals of the conference!
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