After months of anticipation — and a lot of trolling from one of its new mascots — the expanded Big Ten football conference is ready to take the field.

Why it matters: The traditionally Midwestern conference continued a push to the coasts it started 10 years ago when it went east by sprinkling in some West Coast flavor in 2024.

• The addition of USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon has pushed the Big Ten from 14 teams to 18, making it the largest conference.
• The Big Ten's raiding of the Pac-12 makes it the second strongest conference in all of college football behind the SEC.

Why it matters for Indy: The Circle City continues to be home to the most important Big Ten football game of the year. Lucas Oil Stadium will host the 2024 Big Ten Championship game on Dec. 7.

• The title game will stay in Indy through at least 2028.

Driving the news: Today marks the start of Big Ten football when Rutgers plays Howard, Minnesota plays North Carolina and Illinois plays Eastern Illinois in nonconference action.

• Purdue's first game is Saturday at noon against Indiana State.
• IU's first game is Saturday at 3:30pm against Florida International University.

State of play: The 2024 AP Preseason Poll includes six Big Ten teams with No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Oregon, No. 8 Penn State, No. 9 Michigan, No. 23 USC and No. 25 Iowa.

The intrigue: Excitement for the remixed conference is so high, it helped college football tickets climb to a 42% year-over-year increase.

Between the lines: This week brought the announcement of new tiebreaker procedures for the 2024 Big Ten Championship Game, the first in history that will match the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the overall conference standings now that divisions were eliminated.

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More than 100 members of the Indy Eleven supporter group known as the Brickyard Battalion gathered at Union Jack Pub Tuesday night to watch their team take on Sporting Kansas City, an MLS team.

Why it matters: Eleven supporters are still holding out hope that their club will survive the machinations of the City-County Building, and playing against an MLS team is one more reason why they say it should.

Driving the news: The game, which Indy Eleven lost, was the semifinal of the U.S. Open Cup — a tournament amongst teams from the country's various professional soccer leagues, including MLS, the USL and the National Independent Soccer Association.

Yes, but: Battalion president David Ziemba said the fact that the team made it that far — notching their first win over MLS club Atlanta United to make it to the cup semifinal — proves that Indy already has the soccer team it needs.

• "We're giving up a solid thing … for this mystery," he told Axios.

Catch up quick: The future of the Eleven was thrust into uncertainty this spring when Mayor Joe Hogsett announced his plans to pursue an MLS team and build a soccer-specific stadium — without the city's existing team.

• Indy Eleven owner Ersal Ozdemir had already broken ground on Eleven Park, a mixed-use development centered on a 20,000-seat stadium.
• Last month, MLS Commissioner Don Garber said Indianapolis was "doing everything right" to land a team but that there was no timeline for expansion.

What fans are saying

"Your guess is as good as mine."

Hogsett told reporters yesterday he's not sure how broad the City-County Council's proposed investigation into allegations made against Thomas Cook, Hogsett's longtime right-hand man, will get.

Why it matters: Three women who worked for the city and Hogsett's campaign have accused Cook of grooming, sexual harassment and abuse.

The latest: A council committee voted to move forward with the investigation last week.

The other side: In a previous statement to IndyStar, Cook said he "had consensual relationships that violated a trust placed in me" but didn't use his professional position to further those relationships.

🛹 A group of skaters are working together to repair Lawrence Community Skate Park, cleaning up trash and covering hateful graffiti with a better message. (Mirror Indy)

🏃‍♀️ A group of runners is advocating for a safer, more pedestrian-friendly and unifying 38th Street. (IndyStar)

🏢 The last piece of Pan Am Plaza not owned by the Capital Improvement Board is about to come off the board.

• The CIB said it plans to close later this week on the Pan Am Tower, an office building across from the Indiana Convention Center, for $10.5 million. (IBJ)

Meet Ess McKee, an Indianapolis-based multimedia and visual artist who is preparing to educate the next generation of creators at Indy's freshest Labor Day weekend event.

The inspo: McKee says her work draws inspiration from street art and is crafted with the sounds, smells and vibe of city culture in mind.

What she's making now: An impact on budding creators as the BUTTER Fine Arts fair kicks off today. McKee serves as Education Day Team Lead for the annual event.

• McKee said Education Day will provide interactive opportunities for students and the opportunity to see what is possible.
• "To be able to see work from artists that may look like them or be from where they're from … it is inspiring, and it does feel different," McKee told Axios. "It feels attainable when (a featured artist) is somebody that still lives here and creates here."

Check her out: On her website or Instagram.