Pac-12′s Oregon, Washington to join Big Ten, per report

Pac-12′s Oregon, Washington to join Big Ten, per report

Oregon and Washington are set to leave the Pac-12 and join the Big Ten Conference, according to a report from Brett McMurphy.

McMurphy, citing sources, reports both schools are set to join the conference starting in 2024.

The move comes a week after Oregon’s Dan Lanning took a shot at Colorado for leaving for the Big 12.

The Big Ten will stand at 18 members and, according to the report, is considering whether to add Stanford and Cal, or even an ACC schools to get to 20 teams. Both Oregon and Washington won’t initially get full shares of the Big Ten media rights deal, but sources indicated to Murphy they will get more than the Pac-12 has to offer.

Meanwhile, the Pac-12 has now lost five teams in the past 13 months. Big 12 executives met Thursday to approve the application of Arizona as a 14th member of the conference. The meeting was to discuss legal advice regarding the future of Arizona and Arizona State athletics.

Now, according to the report, the Mountain West would “be open” to adding and remaining Pac-12 schools to the league.

Of course, Notre Dame is the big unknown and considered a top choice for expansion, but the Irish continues to state it is happy as an independent.

Florida State on Wednesday became the latest college football power to express discontent with its current conference affiliation.

“It’s not a matter of if we leave [the ACC], in my opinion,” FSU trustee Drew Weatherford said. “It’s a matter of how and when we leave. Not everyone may agree with that, but I feel really strongly about it.”