Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith addresses possibility of additional expansion for Big Ten

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith is pleased with where the Big Ten is at right now. After recently adding UCLA and USC to get to 16 teams, the conference is positioned well to compete with the SEC in the future.

But is the conference done expanding?

Many have speculated the Big Ten might seek to add even more teams in the near future, with Notre Dame being a popular option. As Big Ten Media Days began Tuesday in Indianapolis, conference realignment was a major topic of discussion, with Smith being asked his take on the future of the league.

“Well, you know, we’re strong right now,” the Buckeyes AD said. “Picking up UCLA and USC made us stronger. So my primary focus is on who we are right now, and we know the landscape’s changing, it’s gonna change, so I really haven’t thought about the criteria for the future that we would consider. Obviously, the criteria that we used once USC and UCLA approached us will still be in play. We want good academic institutions. We want institutions that have great competitive success, institutions that fit our culture. And so if we ever look at it again, we’re positioned well, but that’s not something that’s top of mind for us right now.”

Based on those comments from Gene Smith, it seems the Big Ten is not actively pursuing expansion at the moment. That also lines up with what conference commissioner Kevin Warren told reporters when asked about potentially adding Notre Dame.

“It wouldn’t be prudent for me to pursue anyone in another conference,” Warren said at Big Ten Media Days. “We already have them in our conference from hockey. …As of now, they’ve proven they can make it without being in a conference. We’ll keep doing what we’re doing for it and we’ll see how it plays out.”

Warren did not completely rule out the possibility of expansion, but said the conference won’t make another move until it is 100% certain it is the right one.

“I get asked every single day, ‘What’s next?’ It may include future expansion, but it will be done for the right reasons at the right time with our student-athletes,” Warren said. “We will not expand just to expand. It will be strategic, it will add additional value to our conference, and it will provide a platform to even have our student-athletes be put on a larger platform so they can build their careers, but also that they have an opportunity to grow and learn from an education and from an athletic standpoint.”