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Pete Thamel, ESPN
Big Ten presidents and chancellors met early Thursday morning and authorized commissioner Tony Petitti to explore adding Oregon and Washington in expansion as potential conference members, sources told ESPN.
Petitti was tasked with narrowing his focus to those schools, which are amid the uncertainty of the future of the Pac-12, and bringing the presidents back more information on the potential additions. No offers have been made nor was a vote taken, sources told ESPN, as there would remain significant political roadblocks to them being added.
The Big Ten explored adding Oregon and Washington in the months following the addition of USC and UCLA, sources told ESPN, but that quest ended in part because of the complications of funding the schools at a full share. This time around, sources told ESPN, the schools would be given only a partial share.
The excess inventory potentially could be covered by one of the league’s four current television partnerships — FOX, CBS, NBC or the Big Ten Network.
Sources cautioned on Thursday that complications remain that would need to be resolved for the schools to receive a Big Ten invitation. First off, Big Ten leaders have been hesitant to wipe the Pac-12 completely off the map. The Big Ten’s addition of USC and UCLA began the Pac-12’s current spiral, which also has been fueled by Colorado’s decision last week to go to the Big 12.
But this would be a fatal blow.
The notion of calling checkmate is concerning to Big Ten leaders, sources told ESPN. Part of Petitti’s job is to monitor and observe as the future of the Pac-12 plays out. If schools like Arizona, Arizona State and Utah leave for the Big 12, the move would be easier for Big Ten decision-makers.
There’s other headwinds that remain.
USC may not be thrilled with the additions, as part of the appeal of the Trojans and Bruins coming to the Big Ten was the allure of both schools being the only Pac-12 members on the West Coast. In theory, that would protect the Los Angeles recruiting market and strengthen the recruiting pitch to West Coast prospects. This was not a negotiated part of the deal, sources told ESPN, but it was something valued. While the Los Angeles schools don’t have a vote yet because they aren’t officially members until the 2024-25 school year, there’s still some political ground to cover there.
Also, and more immediate, the allure of the move to the current Big Ten schools may not significant. There’d be an uptick in travel costs to play those schools, but there’s no immediate guarantees that the Big Ten schools would make any more money — certainly not significantly more — from the additions.
The potential of Oregon and Washington being courted by the Big Ten is part of the complicated matrix of the Pac-12’s future being sorted out. There are board meetings covering the futures of Washington, Arizona and Arizona State scheduled for Thursday night.
Sources indicated to ESPN on Thursday afternoon that there’s myriad directions on how everything could play out in the big picture, as four of the five major conferences are facing some type of significant type of expansion question.