Tag: Big Ten Expansion

Ohio State football’s record against the four new Big Ten members

What new member of the Big Ten does Ohio State football have the most success against? #GoBucks

The Big Ten has now expanded to almost double the size of its original namesake. With the additions of Oregon and Washington on Friday, and with the already announced defections of UCLA and USC from the Pac-12, the conference will now sit at 18 teams beginning in 2024.

As an Ohio State fan, there are a lot of reasons to be excited about all of this news and what it means, but the Buckeyes do have some history with each of the four teams on the gridiron.

All of this history is going to become somewhat of a norm moving forward through the years, but we thought it’d be fun to look back at what the Ohio State football program’s record is against all four teams that will begin inserting themselves into all the fun in 2024.

Five reasons Ohio State fans should be excited about the additions of Oregon and Washington to the Big Ten

There are some compelling reasons for Ohio State fans to be excited about the additions of Oregon and Washington to the Big Ten. #GoBucks

By now you’ve heard the news. The Big Ten is seemingly expanding faster than the grand ole universe we live in. After UCLA and USC defected from the Pac-12 just a little over a year ago, we now usher in Bigfoot, rain, Sitka pines, and coffee with the additions of Oregon and Washington to the Big Ten.

Traditionalists are wringing their hands and banging their heads against the wall, but this is the new age of amateurism and college football has had to move right along with the changing landscape.

In fact, there are some exciting things about the additions of the two teams from the Pacific Northwest, and we thought we’d highlight some of them for you just in case this dizzying change has left you with a little bit of psychological whiplash and consternation.

Here are five reasons for Ohio State fans to be excited about the additions of the Ducks and Huskies to the Big Ten.

Gene Smith releases statement on additions of Oregon and Washington to Big Ten

Gene Smith is embracing the additions of Washington and Oregon to the Big Ten. #GoBucks

The Big Ten conference is expanding yet again. Just a little over a year after the two L.A. schools, UCLA and USC defected from the Pac-12 to join the conference, we have two more suitors from the Pacific Northwest, Oregon and Washington. So — stay with me — there will now be eighteen teams in the new and improved (we think) Big Ten.

The reactions from around the college football world have been about as swift as this all played out, and Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith got into the act, releasing a statement on the addition of the Ducks and Huskies.

“Welcoming the universities of Oregon and Washington to the Big Ten is exciting for our student-athletes, coaches, and fans,” said Smith. “Both schools are members of the AAU and share Ohio State’s commitment to excellence in the classroom and on the playing field.”

Smith went further on X (formerly Twitter) to talk about the opportunities to bring the Ohio State brand to other parts of the country.

“The additional west coast teams will assist with the integration of USC and UCLA, and provide additional opportunities for our student athletes to compete in front of Buckeye alumni and fans from coast to coast.”

We’ll have more on this fast-swirling news and what it all means for Ohio State and the Big Ten in general from the need to shake up schedules, travel considerations, matchup scenarios, and more.

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Big Ten expansion of Oregon and Washington may not impact Penn State’s future Big Ten schedule

Don’t expect the Big Ten’s additions of Oregon and Washington to change Penn State’s future schedule outlook too much.

Earlier this year the Big Ten released its new schedule format for the 2024 and 2025 college football seasons under the expectation it would be playing with 16 members with the additions of USC and UCLA next season. Penn State arguably benefitted uniquely with the new “Flex Protect Model” that neglected to give Penn State a permanent rival as so many other Big Ten schools received in their schedule formats. This was seen widely as a positive development for Penn State, as it gives them the most Big Ten conference scheduling flexibility moving forward without being forced into a so-called rivalry game.

But how much could that change with the latest Big Ten expansion developments? It may not change much, actually.

The Big Ten officially announced the additions of Oregon and Washington as the conference’s 17th and 18th members as the final daggers of the Pac-12 were shoved into the hearts of the west coast conference by the Big Ten and Big 12 (adding Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah on top of already adding Colorado in 2024). The Big Ten confirmed Oregon and Washington will also join the conference in 2024 along with USC and UCLA, which means that 2024-25 schedule format needs to go right back to the drawing board.

But according to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg, the new format may not need a massive overhaul, and that could be good news for Penn State.

“Many of the same principles will apply for the 18-team model, including the goals of protecting key games and rotating the others,” Rittenberg said in a roundtable conference realignment piece from ESPN.

“The initial 2024 and 2025 schedules included 11 protected matchups,” Rittenberg explained, referring to the protected rivalries under the new Big Ten schedule format including matchups like Ohio State-Michigan and Wisconsin-Minnesota, and Nebraska-Iowa. Penn State did not have one of those protected rivalries assigned, much to the relief of many fans. “A 12th is now virtually guaranteed with Washington and Oregon, bitter rivals who have played many memorable games.”

The additions of the Ducks and Huskies won’t be likely to change as far as Penn State’s conference scheduling looks like. And with actual games yet to be locked into certain dates, there is still time for the Big Ten to sort out how the conference schedule will look after working Oregon and Washington (and whomever else may potentially be joining after this) into the equation.

The Big Ten should absolutely lock Oregon and Washington in a protected series and perhaps leave it at that. That would allow Oregon and Washington to work their way onto Penn State’s schedule in the future a little quicker with Penn State’s potential schedule flexibility remaining in place.

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Big Ten officially announces additions of Oregon and Washington in 2024

The Big Ten announces additions of Oregon and Washington in 2024.

Get ready to go back to the drawing tab;e with the Big Ten schedule in 2024, because it is going to need some massive reconstruction. The Big Ten has officially announced the additions of Oregon and Washington beginning in 2024, bringing the conference membership up to 18 members effective next year.

In a released statement on Friday evening, the Big Ten confirmed both schools will officially join the Big Ten to compete in all sports for the 2024-25 academic year effective August 2, 2024. The two schools will also join the Big Ten Academic Alliance.

“We are excited to welcome the University of Oregon and the University of Washington to the Big Ten Conference,” said Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti in a released statement. “We look forward to building long-lasting relationships with the universities, administrators and staff, student-athletes, coaches and fans. Both institutions feature a combination of academic and athletic excellence that will prove a great fit for our future.”

The Big Ten will now be adding four new members to the Big Ten in 2024; Oregon, Washington, USC, and UCLA. The additions of USC and UCLA were announced a little more than a year ago and a football schedule format for 2024 and 2025 had already been released with the Trojans and Bruins. But now, with Oregon and Washington set to join the Big Ten in 2024, a schedule revision for football will have to be done relatively quickly.

Since 1993, the Big Ten has nearly doubled in size with the additions of Penn State, Nebraska, Maryland, and Rutgers in addition to the upcoming additions of the four west coast schools. It may be safe to assume the Big Ten is not looking to add any more members, but it also would not be totally out of the question at this point as it seems nothing is ever truly off the table in the era of the super conference.

The latest move not only makes the Big Ten the first true superconference among power conferences with a massive membership but also is a catastrophic blow to the stability of the crumbling Pac-12. Already set to lose USC and UCLA to the Big Ten, the Pac-12 is also losing Colorado to the Big 12, its two top northwest programs in Oregon and Washington, and there could be more changes on the way with an eye on Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah as potential Big 12 candidates.

We’ll keep our eyes plugged to the continuing developments of conference realignment madness. There could still be many more dominoes to fall from coast to coast.

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Follow Nittany Lions Wire on X and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion. Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

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BREAKING: Big Ten to reportedly add Oregon, Washington in 2024

Welcome to the Big Ten, Oregon and Washington

Welcome to the Big Ten, Oregon and Washington.

One year after making a splash with the additions of USC and UCLA, the Big Ten is reportedly doing the same thing. Just this time it’s with Oregon and Washington.

Multiple credible sources are reporting that the Big Ten is set to extend an official offer to join the league to both Oregon and Washington on Friday afternoon. The move comes exactly one year after the conference also stole USC and UCLA from the Pac-12.

With the additions of Oregon and Washington, the Big Ten will be up to 18 members. Reports indicate both will join the league next fall for the 2024 football season.

Stay with Spartans Wire for further updates on this fluid situation.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on Twitter @RobertBondy5.

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Reports say Oregon and Washington are expected to receive Big Ten invitation

Reports suggest the Big Ten is about to invite Oregon and Washington.

It does look as though the Big Ten’s next expansion move is imminent. According to multiple reports on Friday, the Big Ten is expected to extend invitations to join the conference to Oregon and Washington with an official vote coming as early as Friday afternoon. This just within days of initial reports surfacing suggesting a small committee of Big Ten leaders gave authorization to Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti to review the two Pac-12 members as prospective members.

That was either a formality or Petitti came back quickly with promising results. Whatever the case may be, it is now expected the Big Ten will soon be announcing the additions of its 17th and 18th members and third and fourth new members from the Pac-12 in the past 13 months, perhaps to the delight of Oregon’s most famous alum, Phil Knight.

The Big Ten will be adding USC and UCLA as the 15th and 16th members of the conference in 2024. Oregon and Washington have long been the top two likely candidates for additional Big Ten expansion among Pac-12 members for the past year. The Ducks and Huskies will bring the Big Ten membership count up to 18.

And it could happen quickly. According to a report from Pete Thamel of ESPN, it is expected Oregon and Washignton will join the Big Ten in 2024.

The Big Ten recently rolled out a conference schedule lineup for 2024 and 2025 that includes USC and UCLA. But if Oregon and Washignton join the mix next year, those schedules will have to be amended already.

The Pac-12 is now set to lose three members in 2024 with USC and UCLA joining the Big Ten and Colorado making a return to the Big 12. That leaves the conference with nine members. And if Oregon and Washington do join the Big Ten in 2024, then the Pac-12 may be left for conference roadkill. Other members including Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah have been linked to continuing Big 12 rumors.

The next step is for the Big Ten membership to hold a formal vote on accepting Oregon and Washignton to join the conference. That is likely to lead to a unanimous vote in favor of the expansion move. Then the timeline for the addition of the Ducks and Huskies will have to be confirmed. Once that business is taken care of, then we can worry about what this all means for the new Big Ten scheduling format.

And what will this all mean for Penn State, who benefitted in some ways with the new format without being locked to a specific permanent rival and had the most Big Ten scheduling flexibility?

For what it is worth, Penn State is 3-0 all-time against Washington in football, including the most recent meeting in the 2017 Fiesta Bowl. Penn State is 3-1 all-time against Oregon with the most recent meeting coming in the 1995 Rose Bowl at the end of the 1994 season.

This is an exciting time for the Big Ten, but not without plenty of questions to be addressed moving forward.

Follow Kevin McGuire on Threads, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on X and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion. Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

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Oregon and Washington joining the Big Ten

And. Here. It. Is. #B1G

The Big Ten keeps getting bigger from ten.

According to reports, Pac-12 members Oregon and Washington are set to join the Big Ten according to several reports, but with news first making the rounds thanks to Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports, who cited sources close to the situation.

This comes on the heels of reports that the Ducks and Huskies’ foregone conclusion of leaving the Pac-12 had cooled a bit on Thursday night.

At the heart of all of the newest expansion talk seems to be surrounding the implosion of the Pac-12 because of an inability to strike a substantial media rights deal after USC and UCLA left the conference for the Big Ten last season. Add that to Colorado making the decision to join the Big 12, and things aren’t very appealing to other members of the league.

According to Wetzel, Big Ten presidents met to discuss the addition of the two schools and the demands on travel and scheduling adding two more teams out West will cause. It is not expected to hinder the two schools from the Pacific Northwest from joining the conference to make it an expanded 18-team league.

As far as negotiations go, Oregon and Washington will most likely take a cut to the deal the Big Ten made with its new media rights deal — as much as 50% of what the other institutions will receive — but that it will still be more than what was on the table for a media right package for the “conference of champions.”

Things are happening quickly too. Oregon and Washington will begin play in the Big Ten in all sports in 2024, so to say that some housecleaning needs to occur would be an understatement.

This is a developing story and one that we will continue to keep an eye on.

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Notre Dame reportedly remains uninterested in joining Big Ten amidst potential further expansion

Notre Dame continues to make it clear they don’t want to join the Big Ten or any other conference

It’s been a wild 24 hours of potential conference expansion for the Big Ten — but one thing remains the same: Notre Dame doesn’t want to join the league.

Oregon and Washington appear to be in prime position to join the Big Ten as the 17th and 18th members of the league. There are details to still be worked out but there are reportedly ongoing conversations between those schools and the league. So one would think that might impact Notre Dame’s stance on remaining independent, right? Nope, it apparently doesn’t.

ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel reported on Thursday that “any potential changes in the Big Ten are not expected to impact Notre Dame’s view on independence.” So that would mean that the Big Ten shouldn’t plan on Notre Dame changing its mind anytime soon.

There are no reports that the Big Ten would even want to add Notre Dame at this point, but the Fighting Irish have always made a ton of sense for the league. However, if the Big Ten does in fact continue to expand, they’ll have to look elsewhere.

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Big Ten continues to explore adding Washington and Oregon

Big Ten presidents have given the green flag to continue exploring possible additions of Oregon and Washington.

The Big Ten continues exploring the idea of adding more teams to the conference. According to ESPN’s college football senior writer, Pete Thamel, school presidents have authorized commissioner Tony Petitti to bring back more information on Oregon and Washington.

Those two schools have long been linked as additions to the Big Ten after the conference added USC and UCLA from the Pac-12 conference starting in 2024.

Expansion for college athletics has long been a hot-button topic as the benefits of increased television revenue have trumped the regional rivalries college sports have created.

There’s no doubt adding Oregon and Washington would benefit the conference financially in the long run. Those two schools dominate their regional market and bring eyes from the metro areas of Portland and Seattle.

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That’s one of the reasons why these schools have been continually linked to the Big Ten and why it’s not shocking the school presidents are asking commissioner Petitti to do due diligence on these universities.

Thamel reports that no offers have been made and a deal to bring them in is uncertain.

One of the major road blocks is from newcomer USC.

“USC doesn’t have a vote, but they’ve been vocal in the past about not wanting other West Coast Big Ten teams,” writes Thamel.

The Pac-12 is not in good standing currently as a conference. With the worst television deal out of the Power 5 conferences, their stalwarts USC and UCLA decided to flee for greener pastures. Colorado was the next school that decided to leave, as they will head back to the Big 12 in 2024.

Because of that, Oregon and Washington will have to decide if they want to stay on what seemingly is a sinking ship or if they’ll follow suit with others and leave.

The Big Ten will have to weigh if the benefits of adding these two universities for all athletic functions is worth potentially angering their new member USC who could be a power player in the conference.

Like anything related to conference realignment, this will continue to be a story to follow and will be updated with any new information that comes out.

Follow Brad Wakai on Twitter and TikTok

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