If you have lived on this planet long enough, you probably know that what people or organizations say in public does not necessarily represent or reflect what they believe or truly want in private. This begins an exploration of the relationship Oregon and Washington have to the Pac-12 Conference.
Let’s start by saying that Oregon and Washington do not hold the cards in terms of moving to the Big Ten, and that the Big Ten still does have to want them. Moreover, if you asked me right now — Friday, July 28, 2023 — which current Pac-12 schools have the most direct path to the Big Ten, I would say Stanford and Cal more than the Ducks and Huskies. I learned a lot in July of 2022, when industry insiders noted how much more Stanford would bring to the Big Ten in terms of estimated value than Oregon.
However, even if Stanford might have a more direct path to the Big Ten if the Pac-12 dies and splinters, Oregon and Washington might still be optimistic they can go to the Big Ten. We’ll explain that point and a lot more in this exploration of three-dimensional chess … and why the Pac-12, as usual, is very bad at playing it.
Let’s take a look: