Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti reveals why conference will eliminate divisions

With the release of the conference schedules for the Big Ten in 2024 and ‘25, commissioner Tony Petitti revealed why the conference will eliminate divisions after this coming season.

He named numerous reasons, such as competitive balance, to eliminate the East and West for a 16-team conference starting in 2024. With USC and UCLA coming to the fold, things will look a bit different for the Big Ten.

Petitti joined Big Ten Network and dove into the decision to eliminate divisions.

“I think it gets back to what you were asking before,” Petitti told BTN host Mike Hall. “Which is just the ability to see more opponents. You can start thinking about competitive balance inside the conference and how to manage that. I think this format eliminates some of those concerns and takes that off the table really. So I think that’s a big part of it.”

Hall asked Petitti about the two-year plan. In 2026, teams could have different “Flexed Protected” opponents after the next two seasons. 

Right now, there are some protected rivalries beyond the 2025 season for the Big Ten.

“Look, I think it does, to some extent, I think schedules are living things right, in some ways, right,” Petitti said. “And if you think about what they accomplish, I think there’s always going to be feedback and understanding of where things are headed. But I think everybody’s pretty confident this is a format that’s really going into work. I think it’s built that way to sort of have you know, go beyond these two years. So I feel really good about that.” 

Petitti acknowledged the format allows the conference to evaluate things year-to-year.

“But look, I don’t think we’d be doing our jobs if we don’t sort of understand and take stock,” Petitti said. “That’s something that, I learned a lot to really in the the media days about you want to build tradition, you want the repetition, but you also want to think in new ways, as often as you can to see that you’re not missing anything. 

“And there are other things that become more important over time. But I think this process is leading to a system that’s going to endure, but again, of course, you wouldn’t be doing your job if you weren’t just taking stock every so often.”

As part of the “Flex Protect” model, the Big Ten will honor traditional “protected” rivalries. All told, 11 matchups will remain intact, including Michigan vs. Ohio State and USC vs. UCLA. 

It’s all part of a new era for the Big Ten with not only two huge additions in the Trojans and Bruins, but with a new commissioner in Petitti and a huge media rights deal taking effect this coming season.