By Field Level Media
Oct 08 (Field Level Media) – Commissioner Tony Petitti sees no reason to make the Big Ten any bigger right now.
Petitti said Thursday at Big Ten basketball media days in Chicago there are no active talks or plans regarding expansion of the conference as rumors swirl about interest from LSU and Miami, among others.
There are “absolutely no discussions taking place around expansion,” Petitti said, with his explicit focus on helping current conference membership adjust to the evolving college landscape.
“This conference has got 18 strong members,” Petitti said. “We’re focused on that. There’s lots of things that we think we can do inside the conference to continue to grow the position that we have with the 18 members.”
The conference expanded most recently in 2024, plucking Pac-12 powers Oregon, UCLA, Southern California and Washington.
Petitti said the Big Ten was supportive of the Protect College Sports Act, which provides a path toward helping conferences be in lockstep on wide- reaching realms such as eligibility limits, transfer rules and universal state adherence to existing legislation.
“The bill isn’t going to stop every possible thing,” he said. “That’s not what it’s intended to do. In areas like eligibility, transfer, legislating litigation around NIL, states trying to come over the top of the system, and the settlement, this will clean all that up, and so that’s really critical.”
–THE CHAMPS ARE HERE: Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo knows all about the challenges of winning in the Big Ten, which houses 2026 Final Four teams and a heavily remodeled national champion in Ann Arbor. Michigan had three first- round NBA draft picks and head coach Dusty May “got drafted first,” as Boynton put it Thursday, after cutting down the nets in Indianapolis.
That Final Four also included Illinois. The Illini start the season with several new faces, too. Top freshman Keaton Wagler was a lottery pick of the Los Angeles Clippers.
Izzo said he’s been around long enough to know it’s not the names and the faces but the places that will matter once conference play begins.
“The Big Ten is going to be damn good. Michigan, Illinois, UCLA and USC have a lot of talent,” he said. “I’m leaving others out. I think Maryland will be far improved. But what isn’t appreciated is our home buildings. Every game is an event. You can’t rest in this league.”
Michigan will be in the hands of Mike Boynton Jr., who replaced May upon his departure for the Dallas Mavericks.
Not everything is new for the Wolverines. Guards Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney lead the cast of familiar faces hoping to put the defending champions in position to play in Detroit — site of the 2027 Final Four — at season’s end.
Boynton, an assistant under May, said his former boss is “the best I’ve ever been around just in terms of emotional IQ.”
“His ability to surround himself with high-quality, competent people and give them the vision to execute. The biggest part I’ve tried to replicate,” Boynton said, “is just having the right people in the room.”
(–Field Level Media)
