Oregon, Washington To Leave Pac-12 For Big Ten
Could the future of the Pac-12 be in jeopardy? With USC and UCLA announcing their departure starting next season, concerns arose around who might be next. According to Brett McMurphy, the next two teams bolting out of the conference are the Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies, who are also leaving for the Big Ten. He was the first to report his news Friday, which was also reported to ActionNetworkHQ.
The total number of teams who have announced they are leaving the Pac-12 is up to five, with Colorado announcing they will be joining the Big 12 in two years’ time. These five schools could be the deciding factor in potentially closing down this once prominent conference of College Football.
Meanwhile, these four additions to the Big Ten have that conference up to 18 total teams, by far the largest in College Football history. This does beg the question if they will look to expand even further or if some teams might choose to bolt as well. But with Oregon and Washington joining the Big Ten, they could be creating the best conference in football.
There are rumors swirling of both Arizona and Arizona State leaving for the Big-12 as well, which would leave the Pac-12 with just five teams left. Stanford and Cal have also been rumored for a bit to be departing. Sooner or later, we are going to see mega conferences where each one has an absurd number of teams, and this seems like just the beginning.
The Mountain West would be “open” to taking on the remaining schools if they choose not to go elsewhere. No matter what, this creates such exciting storylines for the near future, and I can’t wait to watch it all unfold.
