Tony Petitti not centered on future Big Ten conference expansion -"Focus on USC and UCLA" as conference members provide direction for the commissioner

There was a lot of discussion surrounding the Big Ten Conference expansion as the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins join in 2024. During the Big Ten Media Days on Wednesday, commissioner Tony Petitti spoke about the possibility of expanding further, but put some cold water on it for now.

He said (via 247 Sports):

"All the direction I am getting from leadership ... is to focus on USC and UCLA. We have a lot of work to do there."

The Big Ten is currently sitting at 16 programs once the two teams join on July 1, 2024. There was no indication that there will be any Big Ten Conference expansion, but Petitti did not officially shut down the possibility in the future either.

What can the Big Ten conference expansion look like after USC and UCLA join?

The Big Ten conference expansion has been talked about for a while and despite it not being immediate, there are some teams that could be in the next round of expansion.

The conference wants to keep options open, but reportedly vetted 10 programs last month: Miami, North Carolina, Oregon, Duke, Washington, Georgia Tech, Stanford, Cal, Utah and Virginia.

The conference does not want to fall behind as there are always going to be programs wanting to join a Power Five conference. The Big Ten seems to appear as one of the top picks, even within the Power Five, as a top conference in college football.

While this does not mean they are going to be in addition mode, an expansion is definitely something that Commissioner Tony Petitti will need to address in the future.

Just because the Big Ten decided to vet those 10 teams does not mean they are going to be the teams that join if the conference adds teams.

What does the Big Ten look like beginning in 2024?

With the official addition of the USC Trojans and the UCLA Bruins, the Big Ten is going to be the second conference behind the Southeastern Conference. There will be no divisions so fans will be able to see unique matchups every season.

The 16 programs battling it out against one another feature a lot of interesting teams that have a chance to win the Big Ten Conference Championship. With the travel to southern California to take on the newcomers, there is an extra wrinkle attached.

Which team has the best shot of winning the conference championship in 2024?