With realignment once again in the forefront of college athletics, the Big Ten has entered the chat.
According to Dan Wetzel from Yahoo! Sports, the Big Ten has held “exploratory discussions” about expanding, with Oregon, Washington, Cal, and Stanford under consideration. Oregon and Washington, Wetzel reports, are of higher priority, as they’d be the schools of choice if the conference added two teams.
The discussions are in preliminary stages, and they may not lead to anything.
Colorado’s recent move to the Big 12 reignited movement in college sports, and the Pac-12 media rights deliberations are a key factor in further activity. Of the major conferences, the Pac-12 appears to be facing the most turmoil with no media deal in place. The longer that uncertainty extends, the more plausible it could become for other schools to leave and the conference could collapse.
I know people have rolled their eyes at this, but I do not think the Big Ten wants to be the one to deliver the final blow to the Pac-12. So, I expect they'll monitor what happens with the Big 12 first. Dominoes would need to fall there first to act.
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) August 2, 2023
Of course, the Big Ten has very recent history of adding schools from the Pac-12. USC and UCLA are set to join the conference in 2024. Further west coast expansion would have many pros and cons for the Big Ten, but one of the bigger pros would have to be easing travel requirements for the Trojans and Bruins.
The Big Ten released a statement shortly after the Yahoo! story published.
“The Big Ten Conference is still focused on integration of USC and UCLA but it’s also commissioner’s job to keep conference chancellors and presidents informed about new developments as they occur.”
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