Big Ten Expansion
What’s Going On? The Big Ten will add USC and UCLA in 2024. There’s a strong wind blowing that Oregon and Washington are in play, but the Big Ten says it’s not looking to do anything else at the moment. Notre Dame is in the discussion, but that’s harder than it might seem.
Best Case Scenario: The Big Ten flexes its muscles and keeps on going. Oregon and Washington are in, Notre Dame joins the fun, and the conference pays whatever it takes to get North Carolina.
Worst Case Scenario: The SEC gets to the prime ACC powerhouses before the Big Ten, and if that doesn’t work, it wakes up in time to realize they can and should make Oregon, Washington, Arizona, and Arizona State something they can’t refuse.
Crazy Idea That Won’t Work, But … Go make Texas realize it’s really a Big Ten school and that life in the SEC won’t be any fun.
Now that the Big Ten has USC and UCLA, not landing Texas seems even more of a misfire than it did when the SEC announced it landed the richest program in college sports. The Big Ten can be very persuasive.
What Will Probably Happen: The Big Ten will say it’s not expanding and is just fine at 16, and then it might just bring on two Pac-12 schools to make everything just a little easier on USC and UCLA.
Remember, the Big Ten is all about big schools, big markets, world-class universities, and expanding areas for the Big Ten Network. Arizona State, Colorado, Missouri – there’s nothing off the table at this point.
Conference Expansion: What’s Going On?
ACC | AAC | Big Ten | Big 12 | C-USA | Ind
MAC | Mountain West | Pac-12 | SEC | Sun Belt