Big Ten Football: Options for expansion to 16, 18, 20, or 24 teams
By Ryan Kay
Going to 18 or 24 teams may be easier and better long term than simply going to 16 teams in the conference.
The Big Ten going to 16 teams would only be a short-term fix and the easy way to go. However, if the conference were to expand 16 quietly and quickly, this is what the conference and its divisions look like.
16 Team Big Ten Conference
West
Illinois Fighting Illini
Iowa Hawkeyes
Minnesota Golden Gophers
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Northwestern Wildcats
Purdue Boilermakers
Wisconsin Badgers
Utah Utes
East
Indiana Hoosiers
Maryland Terrapins
Michigan State Spartans
Michigan Wolverines
Ohio State Buckeyes
Penn State Nittany Lions
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Virginia Cavaliers
The expansion to 18 teams might be the best route and best path moving forward for the conference.
18-Team Big Ten Conference
West
Iowa Hawkeyes
Minnesota Golden Gophers
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Wisconsin Badgers
Illinois Fighting Illini
USC Trojans
UCLA Bruins
Oregon Ducks
Washington Huskies
East
Maryland Terrapins
Michigan State Spartans
Michigan Wolverines
Ohio State Buckeyes
Penn State Nittany Lions
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Northwestern Wildcats
Purdue Boilermakers
Indiana Hoosiers
To add some teams from the east, a 20 team conference expansion might work.
20-Team Big Ten Conference
West
Iowa Hawkeyes
Minnesota Golden Gophers
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Wisconsin Badgers
Illinois Fighting Illini
Northwestern Wildcats
USC Trojans
UCLA Bruins
Oregon Ducks
Washington Huskies
East
Maryland Terrapins
Michigan State Spartans
Michigan Wolverines
Ohio State Buckeyes
Penn State Nittany Lions
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Georgia Tech Yellowjackets
Miami Hurricanes
Purdue Boilermakers
Indiana Hoosiers
Last but not least, let’s look at if the Big Ten became a super conference at 24 schools.
24-Team Big Ten Conference
West
Iowa Hawkeyes
Minnesota Golden Gophers
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Wisconsin Badgers
Illinois Fighting Illini
USC Trojans
UCLA Bruins
Oregon Ducks
Washington Huskies
Stanford Cardinals
Utah Utes
TCU Horn Frogs
East
Maryland Terrapins
Michigan State Spartans
Michigan Wolverines
Ohio State Buckeyes
Penn State Nittany Lions
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Miami Hurricanes
Purdue Boilermakers
Indiana Hoosiers
Northwestern Wildcats
Virginia Cavilers
Another option for a 24 team conference would be to go to four pods or divisions with six teams in each one.
West
USC Trojans
UCLA Bruins
Oregon Ducks
Washington Huskies
Stanford Cardinals
Utah Utes
Central
Iowa Hawkeyes
Minnesota Golden Gophers
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Wisconsin Badgers
Illinois Fighting Illini
TCU Horn Frogs
Midwest
Michigan State Spartans
Michigan Wolverines
Ohio State Buckeyes
Northwestern Wildcats
Purdue Boilermakers
Indiana Hoosiers
East
Maryland Terrapins
Penn State Nittany Lions
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Miami Hurricanes
Virginia Cavilers
In this format, the division winners of the Midwest and East divisions would play each other in one of the Big Ten conference semifinal games. The division winners of the West and Central divisions would play one another in the other Big Ten conference semifinal game.
dark. Next. Early top 25 projections for 2021
Whatever happens in conference expansion moving forward, if the Big Ten doesn’t expand sooner than later, the SEC will be by far the most dominant college football conference in America.