Report: Oregon, Washington joining Big Ten as Pac-12 exodus continues
The Pac-12 exodus continues.
The Big Ten is expected to invite Oregon and Washington to join the conference, reports ESPN's Pete Thamel.
The Ducks and Huskies have informed Pac-12 presidents that they plan to accept an invitation from the Big Ten, sources told Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports.
A Big Ten vote will reportedly take place Friday and is expected to be unanimous.
With the additions of Oregon and Washington, the Big Ten will soon feature 18 teams, as the 14-team league is also welcoming Pac-12 powerhouses USC and UCLA after the 2023-24 season. The Big Ten also reportedly discussed expanding its membership to 20 schools. In that case, Stanford and Cal would be under consideration.
The latest news leaves the Pac-12's future even cloudier. In addition to the departures of USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington, the conference is also losing Colorado and Arizona to the Big 12. The Buffaloes announced last week that they're returning to the Big 12, while the Wildcats are reportedly in deep discussions about switching conferences. Arizona State and Utah have also been linked to the Big 12.
The Pac-12 has been negotiating a new TV deal, as its current media package expires in 2024. The conference recently presented a media deal with Apple TV+ that would pay each school around $20 million. The package featured subscription-based escalators that could increase the payout.
The Pac-12 held a meeting Friday morning to sign a new contract. However, the league failed to agree to terms on one, with the Big Ten's push to land the Ducks and Huskies playing a factor in the final decision, per Thamel.
Oregon officials informed Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff minutes before Friday's meeting that the Ducks had re-engaged in talks with the Big Ten due to their concerns regarding the Pac-12 deal with Apple.
Oregon stated it was "out" if the Apple "figures didn't increase," a Pac-12 source told Dellenger.
Oregon and Washington are reportedly expected to take a cut-rate as low as 50% of the Big Ten's media revenue that could reach $65 million annually per school.
College sports' latest realignment began with Texas and Oklahoma agreeing to leave the Big 12 for the SEC in 2024. The Big 12 has since added BYU, Cincinnati, UCF, and Houston.
Florida State president Richard McCullough recently threatened to potentially leave the ACC if the league doesn't modify its revenue distribution.