Stanford and Cal out of Big Ten expansion as Tony Petitti is not vying for a 20-team conference: Reports

The Big Ten expansion continues to keep the rumor mill swirling as two teams seem to be out of the running to join the conference. With seemingly their pick of the litter, the Big Ten is beginning to tell teams no.

The Monty Show tweeted about two Pac-12 teams that will not be joining the Big Ten as it does not want to expand to 20 teams.

The Stanford Cardinal and California Golden Bears are not known major football programs that can compete yearly with the competition in the conference. With the uncertainty surrounding the Pac-12 and its future, things look bleak for the two programs. Their futures seem to be joining a Group of Five conference or staying with a depleted Pac-12.

If Cal and Stanford are out, who will the be the winners of Big Ten expansion?

Big Ten expansion is something that has been talked about for a while. When the conference decided to add the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins in 2024, it felt like the caliber of talent was set. Cal and Stanford are at least one full step down athletically from the other programs in the Big Ten, so unless it was a merger, the fit never made sense.

Attacking the Atlantic Coast Conference seems to be a better strategy for the Big Ten expansion. Having a Florida State or Clemson feels more in line with the Big Ten anyways. The quality of competition feels more in tune with the Big Ten.

Why is Big Ten expansion not going to 20 teams?

Once UCLA and USC join the conference in 2024, the Big Ten will have 16 members. With the conference not wanting to reach 20, that means they have two open slots available. They would not want to have an odd amount of teams for the fact that conference schedules would need to have one team off each week.

There could be a myriad of reasons that Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti wants to avoid reaching 20 teams. One of the more obvious could be that the universities do not want to have their annual distribution shares cut.

Another reason could easily be the fact there would be two additional voices in the conference's decisions, with each school losing some power. Whatever the actual reason or reasons are, the Big Ten seems to be creating a superconference while being responsible of not just accepting anyone.