The Big Ten conference began its 51st annual Big Ten Media Days on Wednesday morning at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and along with it came several big storylines.

New commissioner Tony Petitti has seen a myriad of issues since taking over for Kevin Warren less than 100 days ago, including serious hazing and toxic culture allegations, a potential four-game suspension for a head coach due to recruiting violations and a sports wagering scandal. Not to mention the impeding expansion of the Big Ten and a new 12-team College Football Playoff on deck in 2024.

Boiler Upload had boots on the ground during an eventful morning and afternoon on Wednesday at the home of the Big Ten Championship Game. Take a look at the sights and sounds from day one of the 2023 Big Ten Media Days.

One of the biggest storylines of the off-season in the Big Ten came just a few weeks ago when Pat Fitzgerald was suspended and then fired by Northwestern as a result of an ongoing hazing investigation within the program.

Three players, Bryce Gallagher, Rod Heard II and Bryce Kirtz all opted out of Big Ten Media Day as controversy surrounds their team. Interim head coach David Braun stepped onto the podium to field questions and was very complimentary of his players during a difficult time.

"They have responded in this time with exceptional work ethic, resolve, perseverance, through an incredibly difficult time," Braun said.

Braun, who has been on the job for just a short time, did not go into specifics about the alleged hazing situations on Wednesday. As the investigation continues to unfold in Evanston, the Big Ten will have a hands off approach right now. The conference will not launch its own investigation into the allegations.

"We'll wait to see the results of those investigations and we'll have further comments at that time," Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti said.

Northwestern has "come together" during the turmoil of the last few weeks according to Braun, who is tasked with getting the Wildcats ready for the 2023 season in just over a month.

As conference realignment continues to take over the college football landscape, the Big Ten joined the party for the first time since 2014, when Maryland and Rutgers entered the fold. USC and UCLA are slated to join the Big Ten beginning in 2024, adding anticipation to the future of the conference.

Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti went to Los Angeles last month to meet with administrators from USC and UCLA as the schools and the conference prepare to unite around this time next year. There are still aspects of the move to smooth over before August of 2024, which puts any further expansion on hold for the moment.

"I'm not getting direction to do anything else other than that in terms of what the conference looks like right now," Petitti said on Wednesday.

Potential additions like Oregon, Washington, and a flurry of ACC programs have been floated out as possible options, but none of the rumors have had any legs to them yet. While the soon-to-be former Pac 12 members have stirred up anticipation amongst fans and media, Petilli does not believe it will take away from the Big Ten's 2023 campaign this fall.

When CBS college football analyst and former Purdue quarterback Gary Danielson played in the Big Ten, there were the traditional ten programs in the conference. With that number rising to 16 teams in 2024, the Cradle of Quarterbacks member believes it could benefit the league greatly from a national perspective.

Danielson looks at the SEC, which he says has 5-6 teams that expect to be in the College Football Playoff picture each year. He believes that the Big Ten currently has 3 core teams in that situation, Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State.

USC, who was on the cusp of a College Football Playoff berth last season, needs to be successful once entering the mix in Danielson's eyes.

"USC could lift the tide of the whole conference by them being great," he said.

With USC and UCLA coming in, the Big Ten's divisions are going out. As a result, what Danielson referred to as the "middle class" of the conference could suffer. That group consists of programs like Purdue, Iowa, and Northwestern.

"The elimination of the divisions is a huge story. It's going to be interesting. How does Iowa, Northwestern, Purdue, get to that Big Ten championship? That's the challenge," Danielson said, "It just seems like the rich are getting richer and the middle class is shrinking."

Another off-season scandal that rocked a member of the Big Ten was Iowa's sports wagering investigation, where 26 athletes in the athletic department are being investigated. That group of players includes defensive lineman Noah Shannon, who decided not to attend Big Ten Media Days due to the circumstances.

Hawkeyes' head coach Kirk Ferentz addressed the situation during his press conference on Wednesday:

"I don't think anybody condones gambling, especially on the college game. That being said, I think I've learned a lot in the last two months just about gambling," Ferentz said.

Ferentz shared that he never paid much attention to the gambling world until it impacted his program earlier this year. The longest tenured head coach in the conference hopes that the NCAA will hand out fair rulings for the athletes in question.

"I'm hopeful this in an opportunity for the NCAA maybe to reconsider two things; What the quote unquote punishments or penalties might be that are fair and relevant to the world we're living in right now. And then probably the bigger thing is there's an opportunity right now I think for a better education process," Ferentz told the media.

There is no timeline for the investigation at this point, nor are there any other names in question aside from Shannon. Although, Ferentz told reporters that it is not a widespread issue throughout the roster.

"It's not a large number of players, period," Ferentz said. "Long story short, we really don't know what the outcomes is going to be."

College football fans know "The Game" as one of the must watch matchups of the year to cap off the Big Ten's regular season. Could that date be changing? Ohio State's head coach believes it should be considered.

Ryan Day shared the idea of moving the highly-anticipated matchup between the Buckeyes and Michigan from its traditional regular season finale slot should be discussed moving forward.

The reason being that divisions will no longer be used once USC and UCLA join the conference next season, which will make the top two teams in the league face off in the Big Ten Championship Game.

"If it was the same as it was last year, we’d be playing them back-to-back games, and who knows — maybe playing them again in the playoffs,” Day said.

“If you know you’re playing them in the Big Ten Championship already, it could be something that we haven’t experienced before. I think it’s worth a discussion," the Buckeyes' head coach added.

Day shared that some discussions surrounding the idea have already happened, but nothing is imminent right now.