Assuming that the reports come true, the Big Ten is about to look very weird.
The conference, which has already added the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins, is reportedly offering membership to the Washington Huskies and Oregon Ducks as well. Not only will this essentially “kill” the Pac-12 as we know it, but it’s going to create a pretty weird-looking map for the Big Ten, or Big 16 as it will now stand.
Field Yates shared the funky-looking map on Twitter.
A look at the future Big 10… pic.twitter.com/ijWwyt7U4U
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) August 4, 2023
Thanks to the addition of Rutgers and Maryland a while back, what was once a firmly Midwestern conference now stretches from one ocean to the other. Adding Washington and Oregon will make it easier to deal with travel now that they can be “podded” with UCLA and USC. But still, having East and West Coast schools constantly traveling to one another is going to be a major stress on student-athletes.
Naturally, college football fans had some very strong feelings about the map and what it represents about the state of college athletics.
professional sports https://t.co/D6dUK5bfgl
— charles (“you look good” – andy reid) mcdonald (@FourVerts) August 4, 2023
A reminder that the conference switch is going to mean a lot more travel for every UW student-athlete. Following the money remains just about undefeated. https://t.co/zwreK0XGNd
— UW Dawg Pound (@UWonSBN) August 4, 2023
Oregon/Rutgers a legendary rivalry https://t.co/okAQJFTDvE
— Steve Palazzolo (@PFF_Steve) August 4, 2023
Basketball and baseball travel is going to be wild for these teams. How many neutral site games are we seeing? Or does it become 3-4 team micro tourneys to knock games out? https://t.co/0gWriJRHX0
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) August 4, 2023
The college football landscape is in the middle of a massive shift once again. The truth is that this map might not even be the end of realignment this round, especially as the West Coast schools look for even more travel options to make life easier.
