Iowa President Hints At Even More Big Ten Expansion
The Big Ten Conference won the conference realignment roulette spin this offseason thanks to the Pac-12’s incompetence.
After grabbing USC and UCLA in previous years, the other two most valuable remaining programs in the conference, Oregon and Washington jumped to more Midwestern pastures too.
Despite repeated denials throughout the process, the Big Ten was clearly interested in adding more teams to the existing roster. And they might not be done at becoming the Big 18.
According to The Athletic, University of Iowa president Barbara Wilson spoke to the school’s Presidential Committee on Athletics about the future of the conference. And when asked if the Big Ten was done at 18 teams, Wilson reportedly said she “can’t comment” on what they’re discussing.
And believe it or not, according to her, they’re not expanding for monetary reasons either.
“What I can tell you is that we’re not making any decisions quickly,” Wilson said Thursday. “But we’re thinking deeply about the issues at hand, and we’re not making decisions to chase dollars right now. So even though it looks that way to some of our critics, that’s not what we’re doing.”
That doesn’t sound like they’re done with expansion, does it?
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JULY 26: General view of the Big Ten Conference logo seen on the field during the 2022 Big Ten Conference Football Media Days at Lucas Oil Stadium on July 26, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
Who’s Even Left For The Big Ten?
The Pac-12 only nominally exists at this point, with Oregon State and Washington State stuck turning out the lights.
READ: ACC FINALLY MAKES DECISION ON EXPANSION WITH CAL, STANFORD, SMU: THEY’RE IN
The Big 12 has solidified its position by adding Utah, Arizona, ASU and Colorado. The ACC is safe and it’s hard to imagine teams leaving the SEC.
But the non-denial implies the Big Ten may still see opportunities to make more mone…add to the academic prestige and opportunities for student-athletes with further additions.
“The other thing we’re thinking about all the time is, how do we elevate the Big Ten brand?” Wilson said. “Just think about Iowa playing football in Los Angeles, or women’s basketball. It’s great for our student-athletes. It’s great for us to advertise the (Iowa Writers Workshop) in Los Angeles, where we have a lot of Hollywood alums.”
“We also think about where we are, and where we can have a bigger profile for our university, in terms of recruitment, and in terms of impact, but also in terms of student-athletes having those opportunities. So, it’s more complicated than it looks on the surface.”
As always, it’s increasingly feeling like NCAA football will eventually turn into some entirely new entity where conference affiliations aren’t as relevant.
Or maybe the Big Ten will keep building and be the Big 24 in 2025. All out of the goodness of their heart.