Reports Say Washington and Oregon Leaving Pac-12 For Big Ten

The West Coast conference appears on the verge of total collapse.

After more than a year of all kinds of speculation, it appears that Washington and Oregon will be leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten, putting the former conference on the verge of collapse. 

As first reported by Action Network's Brett McMurphy, and following USC and UCLA's departure for the Big Ten in 2022, plus Colorado's decision to exit the Pac-12 for the Big 12 on July 27, it appeared that the final two pillars of a more than century-old conference will bring about its demise.

Washington and Oregon reportedly will become the latest schools to realign, making the 18-team Big Ten conference the largest in college football history. McMurphy confirmed in his report something that had been rumored since USC and UCLA's initial departure, that the Big 10 vetted and cleared Washington and Oregon over a year ago but chose not to expand even more at the time.

“There was no more research or information needed on Oregon and Washington,” a source told McMurphy. “We have everything we need.”

However, the Big Ten still needs to extend formal invitations to those schools and then approve their memberships.

BREAKING: Oregon & Washington joining Big Ten, becoming latest schools to leave Pac-12; putting Pac-12 future in doubt, sources told @ActionNetworkHQ 👀👀👀https://t.co/FtVKNdjHuD

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) August 4, 2023

There haven't been any definitive reports just yet in terms of what the two schools would earn in revenue share. The other question that still remains is whether the conference will continue to expand and where it will look to do so.

After initial realignment talks in 2022, rumors were swirling that Notre Dame was one of the main schools the Big Ten was targeting, but with the state of the Pac-12 conference, focus could shift to the Bay Area schools. Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah have been linked to the Big 12, so Stanford and California might have an opportunity to jump on board with the Big Ten.

Oregon and Washington informed Pac-12 presidents earlier that they plan to accept an invitation from the Big Ten, sources tell me and @DanWetzel. An invitation from the Big Ten is expected soon. https://t.co/KhebqNamPV

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) August 4, 2023

When more details are released, we will continue to update this story. As all of this comes to fruition, one can only wonder what the Pac-12 would look like if former commissioner Larry Scott had decided to expand in 2011 by adding Texas and Oklahoma.

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