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Big Ten commish: More expansion possible, has to be for 'right reasons'

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The Big Ten is open to further expansion that would "add additional value" to the conference, commissioner Kevin Warren said Tuesday.

"I get asked every single day, 'What's next?'" Warren said. "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 will make regarding any further expansions.

"We will not expand just to expand. It will be strategic."

USC and UCLA are set to join the Big Ten in 2024 and will receive a full share of conference revenue upon their arrival, Warren said. The commissioner added he's pleased with the Big Ten's current makeup but is "excited" to welcome the arriving Pac-12 schools, per Brett McMurphy of The Action Network.

The conference's expansion plans come a year after Texas and Oklahoma agreed to leave the Big 12 to join the SEC. That move led to BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF joining the Big 12. In the wake of the constant realignment, Warren said he's "embracing change."

"I think there's two types of people in the world: They look at change as it's a problem, or they look at change as an opportunity," Warren said, per ESPN's Adam Rittenberg. "And I'm one of those individuals that, when change occurs, I get excited about it. And then it really is an opportunity for us to do a lot of things that people have thought about, but maybe have been a little bit reticent to do."

Warren added that the Big Ten will be able to provide television "all the way from the morning into the night" once USC and UCLA come onboard.

He also noted that he expects to announce a new media rights deal "sooner rather than later."

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