Big Ten commissioner on the ‘transformative’ nature of college sports, including his own conference

The Big Ten will look much different than in years past, and the first glimpse arrived Tuesday as the conference kicked off its football media days.

The Big Ten added a third day to the event this year to account for four new schools: Oregon, Southern California, UCLA, and Washington, which officially will join on Aug. 2 to create an 18-team conference.

Commissioner Tony Petitti was peppered with several questions regarding expansion and the value the new West Coast members bring.

“For our presidents and chancellors, the academic fit is really important, if you look at the strength and all other sports, that the four new members bring,” said Petitti, who in his first full year as commissioner saw attendance records set in women’s volleyball and basketball. “It’s a complete match across many different factors. That’s what made the decision to add Oregon, Washington, which was done by my staff, and then the decision that [previous commissioner] Kevin Warren and his staff did to add USC, UCLA. … I think we’ve got to get a lot of things right, but I feel really good about the way we’re positioned for the future in terms of the health and strength of the conference.