The Big Ten is expected to officially approve Oregon and Washington as new members later Friday, league sources tell The Athletic.
The news comes after a frenzied 36 hours. Early Friday morning, momentum for the two schools had slowed considerably, but then the Pac-12 met to discuss its new media rights deal and its future. Afterward, the Big Ten presidents and chancellors met, and the group eventually agreed to offer official invitations to Oregon and Washington — to become the league’s 17th and 18th members. The invites come a little more than a day after The Athletic reported that the Big Ten presidents authorized commissioner Tony Petitti to pursue expansion, and one week after Colorado left the Pac-12 for its former home conference, the Big 12.
The additions come barely 14 months after the Big Ten welcomed Pac-12 flagship programs USC and UCLA as new members beginning Aug. 2, 2024. That movement launched the Pac-12 into chaos in the aftermath, especially in almost-daily showdowns with the Big 12 over expansion.
The Pac-12’s inability to secure a quality linear media rights contract coupled with the Big 12’s media rights agreement, reached last fall, led many Pac-12 programs to consider leaving the historic conference. It came to a head last week when Colorado…
