As talks of B1G expansion continue, University of Iowa president Barbara Wilson addressed the possibility of expanding the conference further.

Wilson did not give a clear yes or no on whether the B1G will stay at 18 teams or expand further, but she did say what schools would need if they want to be a part of the conference. She mentioned that academics were at the forefront of decisions. Schools need to be on par academically and research wise if they want to join the conference.

“We’ve been really careful about making sure the universities we invite in are comparable in quality on the academic side,” Wilson said. “They’re all AAU (Association of American Universities) universities, they all have athletics connected to academics in the same way that we do, they have very high status on the research front.”

She also mentioned that money is not the driving factor in decision making. The schools must also help benefit the B1G brand.

“If we’re going to bring partners in, we want to make sure that they can get involved in the research components of what we do,” Wilson said. “We’re not just making decisions based on money or eyeballs in media outlets. The other thing we’re thinking about is how do we elevate the Big Ten brand.”

Wilson mentioned that having Iowa’s teams playing in Los Angeles would be great for the university because it would give students the chance to meet people they otherwise not be able to meet.

“We also think about where we are and where we can have a bigger profile for our university in terms of recruitment and in terms of impact, but also in terms of student athletes getting those opportunities,” Wilson said. “It’s more complicated than it looks on the surface.”