Big Ten considering adding more Pac-12 schools to conference

Would you add any of these? Which teams would you like to see in the Big Ten?

College conference realignment continues with Colorado announcing it is headed to the Big 12 next year. USC and UCLA are Big Ten bound, and Oklahoma and Texas are headed to the SEC.

The Big Ten, in particular, is looking to continue expanding, and that may be the death knell for the Pac-12.

According to reports, the Big Ten has its eyes on four schools from the Pac-12, although it is primarily interested in two schools. The primary two targets are Oregon and Washington, while Cal and Stanford are also under consideration.

The Big Ten has started considering further additions to its 16-team conference with league members holding preliminary conversations surrounding expansion to as many as 20 teams, sources tell CBS Sports. While Oregon, Washington, California and Stanford — all Pac-12 members — are the programs under consideration by the league, it is Oregon and Washington that are the primary focus should the Big Ten chose to expand by two programs and become an 18-team conference.

These exploratory talks are at their earliest stages for a league that had seemingly closed the door on further expansion after moving to 16 members following the additions of USC and UCLA from the Pac-12. The Trojans and Bruins will join the Big Ten at the start of the 2024-25 athletic season.

Cal and Stanford would be excellent fits from an academic standpoint, but may not make much sense from an athletic standpoint — at least not in football. Stanford was a perennial Director’s Cup winner, indicating athletic excellence across the board, but the football program has fallen off in recent years. Oregon and Washington, however, would be strong matches from an athletic and football standpoint, though that would add more long road trips for the Midwest and East Coast-based schools. It would lessen the travel load for the new California additions, especially if all four schools are added.

There are rumors, as well, as discussed by Barstool Sports, that Florida State and Clemson are under consideration. Florida State indicated on Wednesday that remaining in the ACC is not sustainable.

We’ll see if the Big Ten gets involved there, even though, geographically, it makes more sense that FSU would end up in the SEC.

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