Report: Big Ten evaluating multiple Pac-12 programs for further conference expansion

The Big Ten is currently considering the potential addition of Pac-12 schools Cal, Oregon, Stanford and Washington to the conference in order to reach 20 total schools, according to CBS Sports insider Dennis Dodd. The report comes weeks after powerhouse programs USC and UCLA announced their future move across conferences as many welcome the “Super Conference” era.

Many rumors and reports have tied the remaining Pac-12 schools to a number of different options, including further addition of western schools, a merger with the Big 12 – which saw its two largest programs leave when Texas and Oklahoma announced their future in the SEC in 2021 – or more movement toward the Big Ten.

While the CBS report indicates that the move to add the four schools would not necessarily boost the value of the conference further, it would provide a “lifeline” for the Pac-12’ largest remaining brands. The issue of travel for USC and UCLA has also become a talking point, with four additional West Coast teams easing the burden of trips across the country each week.

Kevin Warren on Big Ten expansion

Having just welcomed USC and UCLA to the conference, Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren is already fielding questions about further expansion at media days. Warren says the entire landscape is in a “perpetual state of evaluating.”

“Where we are right now, I’m focused on being realistic about the state of college athletics,” Warren said at the Big Ten Media Days podium. “About accepting our responsibility to shape college athletics, lead and fortify, to be bold … strong, and innovative. Regarding expansion, 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’ academic and athletic empowerment at the center of any and all decisions that we make.”

“We will not expand just to expand,” Warren continued. “It will be strategic. It will add additional value to our conference and it will provide an even larger platform for our student-athletes to build their careers and have an opportunity to grow and learn.”