BREAKING: Oregon & Washington joining Big Ten, becoming latest schools to leave Pac-12

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So that makes 18 teams in conference now after USC and UCLA?
 


Randomly stating I expect 24 before long. Would also add UF and Miami. Would like to raid a little SEC too. Only from large TV markets.
 



What the hell, let's throw in Faber College and Hogwarts while we're at it.

I understand this is all about money but personally I just can't get excited by this. I'm getting old I suppose but it sure seems like this drains a lot of the appeal from long standing regional rivalries.
 


Frink said:
What the hell, let's throw in Faber College and Hogwarts while we're at it.

I understand this is all about money but personally I just can't get excited by this. I'm getting old I suppose but it sure seems like this drains a lot of the appeal from long standing regional rivalries.
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100% agree.

The rate of deterioration of college athletics is astounding, imo.
 




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BarnBurner said:
100% agree.

The rate of deterioration of college athletics is astounding, imo.
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It really is. We had modest realignment in the 1990s (Penn State, a few others around the country), it accelerated a tad in the early 2000's (Nebraska, Colorado, a few others, fine). Then Big Ten Network comes in and college sports is changed for the worse forever. Expansion rapidly increases, NIL, Portal, expansion increases again and here we are, with Oregon and Rutgers in the same conference. Sigh.

What made college sports special was regional rivalries, tradition, etc. This is not "old man yelling at clouds" this is a self-inflicted seismic change in the landscape of college sports, all driven by TV deals.

Go Gophers!!
 

Very intrigued to see if more Minnesota guys consider Washington with Kalen Deboers ties to the area with Milbank being his hometown, and his time in the NSIC at University of Sioux Falls. He already poached Elinnieus Davis from Moorhead and would have to think this gives him more ammo to get SD/ND/MN kids out to Seattle
 





Regional play ins to an 8 or 4 team tourney. Not so crazy.
 

BleedGopher said:
It really is. We had modest realignment in the 1990s (Penn State, a few others around the country), it accelerated a tad in the early 2000's (Nebraska, Colorado, a few others, fine). Then Big Ten Network comes in and college sports is changed for the worse forever. Expansion rapidly increases, NIL, Portal, expansion increases again and here we are, with Oregon and Rutgers in the same conference. Sigh.

What made college sports special was regional rivalries, tradition, etc. This is not "old man yelling at clouds" this is a self-inflicted seismic change in the landscape of college sports, all driven by TV deals.

Go Gophers!!
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Yes. And as I age I agree with the old man call -
 






most of the talk has been about football - but this shakes up the B1G in hoops.

looking at last season's Pac-12 standings -
UCLA 1st (31-6 overall)
USC 3rd (22-11 overall)
Oregon 4th (21-15 overall)
Washington 9th (16-16 overall)

so the B1G is adding 3 of the top 4 teams from the old Pac-12. that makes the B1G a pretty damn solid hoops conference.

Meanwhile, the Big-12 gets
Arizona 2nd (28-7 overall)
----maybe Arizona State 5th (23-13)
---maybe Utah 7th (17-15)
Colorado 8th (18-17)
 



Arizona aint going anywhere without Arizona State. This is getting to be too much.
 

Get two schools from the ACC for the East Coast. Then we can have 5 groups of four who always play each other in football for rivalry games with a rotating schedule around the others. Our group of 4 would be Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota.
West Coast is USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington.
Great Lakes is Northwestern, Illinois, Purdue, and Indiana.
Auto Makers Division is Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio and Penn State.
East Coast is Rutgers, Maryland, ? (North Carolina) and ? (Duke) to round out the league.
 

gophereric30 said:
Arizona aint going anywhere without Arizona State. This is getting to be too much.
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Both Arizona schools have the same Board of Governors. They will both go anywhere together.
 
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The U chimes in:

Statements From Interim President Jeff Ettinger and Director of Athletics Mark Coyle

Earlier today, the Big Ten, Oregon and Washington announced that Oregon and Washington would be joining the Big Ten conference in 2024.

University of Minnesota Interim President Jeff Ettinger and Director of Athletics Mark Coyle have issued the following statements about this news.

University of Minnesota Interim President, Jeff Ettinger
"Throughout its history, the Big Ten has been an amazing collection of universities and the University of Minnesota is proud to be one of the original members of this conference. Big Ten universities are America's leading research universities, with alumni that live not only in every corner of the country, but across the globe. Washington and Oregon will fit the unrivaled tradition of academic excellence, discovery and innovation that's synonymous with the Big Ten. We are excited for Washington and Oregon to join that tradition and add to the Big Ten's future legacy."

University of Minnesota Director of Athletics, Mark Coyle
"I am excited to welcome Oregon and Washington to the Big Ten. These are two universities that prioritize academic excellence and broad-based athletic success. They will bring tremendous visibility, as well as passionate fan and alumni bases to the league. Their addition strengthens the Big Ten and further solidifies it as the premier national conference in college athletics. As a Big Ten charter member, we look forward to competing against the Ducks and the Huskies."

Go Gophers!!
 

Absolutely need to get to 20 - it makes too much sense. Stanford for sure - and Notre Dame. If not Notre Dame - how about Cincinnati? 4 divisions of 5 teams. Something along this line

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In Football, you play your pod and then all the teams in another pod for 9 games. Switch pods every year. So you play everyone at least 1 time per 4 years. Pod winners play off for the championship - including a 3rd place game as that might mean another team in the playoffs. The only downside - no OFFICIALLY scheduled Ohio State - Michigan. But how many times do you think they play in the 4 team playoff? (Answer - Lots)

In basketball, home and away with your pod - then 2 pods (1 home, 1 away). Switch pods every year. 18 game conference. Then I'd do a POD playoff to get 2 teams from each pod to the B1G tournament.

All the other sports work similar to basketball.

Less travel. Lots of games in every time zone for TV. Nearly all the traditional rivals remain intact.

Way too much sense - so It will never happen.
 

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