INDIANAPOLIS -- Big Ten media days kicked off on Tuesday. And commissioner Kevin Warren shared his thoughts on a variety of topics. Here were five key talking points.

The pending additions of USC and UCLA continue to create a buzz. Both Pac-12 schools are slated to arrive in the Big Ten in 2024.

Is the Big Ten still looking to add teams?

“I get asked every single day what's next?” said Warren. “It may include future expansion, but it will be done for the right reasons at the right time ...

"We will not expand just to expand. It will be strategic, it will add additional value to our conference ... "

When Rutgers and Maryland joined the Big Ten in 2014, they initially didn’t receive a full share of media rights. But, that won’t be the case for USC and UCLA.

“USC and UCLA will come in as full members,” said Warren. “We think that's important for various reasons. They bring a lot of value to our relationship. They bring a lot of panache to our relationship, and we look forward to welcoming them into the Big Ten family here in 2024. There's a lot of work to be done between now and then.”

News surfaced recently about Big Ten players meeting with Warren to discuss a number of topics, one of which was revenue sharing.

“One of the reasons why we're forming our Student-Athlete Advisory and Advocacy Committee is just to be able to have discussions not only about money but about environment,” said Warren.

The players were led by Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford.

"I've already started some dialogue with our student-athletes," said Warren. "We're going to amplify that committee here quickly. I want to hear it from them. I want to be a great listener to figure out what is important to them. It's so easy to talk about money and share money, but what does that really mean? I want to make sure that I listen and learn to be able to have big ears and a small mouth to truly understand what's important to them."

Warren spent a lot of time studying both West Coast schools before the move came to fruition this offseason.

"One of the things that caught my eye when I was interviewing for this job back in 2019, I studied every one of the universities across the country," he said. "One of the things that jumped out about USC, UCLA, and even the market of Los Angeles, we have -- they're the largest section of Big Ten alumni, other than in the Midwest, is in Los Angeles. And there's so many opportunities that exist across the country."

If the league ever opts to grow beyond 16 teams, more intensive study will take place.

"So, a lot of work that we've done on any expansion, potential expansion we've done, we've done it multiple years ago, and we're always in a perpetual state of analyzing the goodness of fit for any institutions that would come into the Big Ten Conference," said Warren.

It has been reported and discussed often in recent weeks: The value to TV networks to have games begin at 10:30 p.m. ET.

"I always ask why and why not," said Warren. "I think sometimes later time zones on the West Coast, people looked at it as a negative, and I always looked at it as a positive. So for us in the Big Ten to be -- we're in four time zones, we will be in 2024: East, Central, Mountain, and West. So now we'll be able to provide content all the way from the morning into the night and lead into some really incredible programming.

"So, I think the value of being across four time zones for multiple reasons is really important. We haven't finalized the financial impact, and ironically this probably will shock you, the numbers and finances associated with it are typically the last thing that I kind of consider and analyze. It's important for me from a business standpoint, but from a decision-making process standpoint, always look at all the other reasons why because, if all the other reasons make sense, the finances will take care of themselves."

Not long ago, the Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC rejected a proposal for an expanded 12-team playoff.

The hope was that an expanded playoff would begin as soon as the 2024 season. Now, it appears likely the current four-team playoff will not expand until its current 12-year television contract with ESPN ends ahead of the 2026 season.

"I'm 100 percent supportive of College Football Playoff expansion," said Warren. "I'm excited that we now will have some new members in the room who will have very creative ideas.

"We have meetings coming up in September and October to talk about these issues. I'm 100 percent supportive for College Football Playoff expansion."

What is that right number?

"We'll figure it out," said Warren. "I'm confident we'll get College Football Playoff expansion resolved. I feel very strongly that we need to open it up to have multiple media partners, that we need to have from the college football standpoint. We need to take a holistic view. We need to make sure we protect some of the critical bowl relationships.

"So, as we work through all these, whether it's automatic qualifier, whatever the case may be, I'm confident as we get these new individuals in a room, get these issues on the table, that we'll be able to reach some resolution and again make sure we ask ourselves the right questions for the right reasons at the right time for our student-athletes and our fans, but I look forward to the day we can expand the College Football Playoff, and I'm confident that it will happen."

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