Oregon Ducks
ROSEMOUNT, IL (WSAU) — Expansion talks continue in the Big Ten Conference, though the next round may come with a little more warning.
Action Network’s Brett McMurphy reports today that the University of Oregon has initiated discussions with league leadership to see if the Ducks are a good fit for the conference. The move would add a third school to the Big Ten’s new western footprint to go with USC and UCLA while also adding another national brand in football.
Oregon has initiated preliminary discussions in Chicago w/Big Ten to determine if Ducks are compatible in the Big Ten, source told @ActionNetworkHQ. Big Ten “not done expanding,” sources told @ActionNetworkHQ last week. https://t.co/DYMZADm17v
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) August 22, 2022
Big Ten Commissioner Keven Warren made it clear during the league’s most recent football media day that the conference has its sights set on growing to as many as 20 schools, with much of that expansion talk focused on adding more programs out west to help cut down on travel costs for the Bruins and Trojans. The other driving factor is money, as the league’s recently announced media rights partnership with CBS, NBC, and FOX includes a yearly rights fee escalator that would kick in if the league adds new members, which would add game inventory.
Other rumored targets have included Washington, Stanford, and Notre Dame.
Bringing the Irish into the fold would require them to break their current membership and football scheduling agreement with the ACC, though Notre Dame is an affiliate member of the Big Ten in men’s hockey. Johns Hopkins participates in men’s and women’s lacrosse with the rest of their sports playing at the Division III level.
The league currently sits at 14 full-time members. USC and UCLA are scheduled to become numbers 15 and 16 in 2024
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