Pac-12 survival: Oregon, UW reportedly to depart for Big Ten, pushing conference to the brink
The Pac-12 was on the verge of extinction on Friday, as Oregon and Washington reportedly prepared to accept Big Ten membership invitations.
According to Yahoo, the Big Ten is in “the final stages of negotiating an expansion to 18 teams,” with the Ducks and Huskies set to join USC and UCLA next summer to form a western arm.
The historic development would prevent the Pac-12 from concluding a media rights agreement, setting off a chain reaction that would result in the 108-year-old conference’s dissolution.
Without the Pacific Northwest powers committing, Arizona is expected to accept an invitation to the Big 12, followed by Arizona State and Utah.
As tenants of an otherwise empty conference, the remaining four schools — Stanford, Cal, Washington State, and Oregon State — would face uncertain futures.
As he attempted to save the Pac-12, commissioner George Kliavkoff faced a slew of late-breaking challenges, the most serious of which was the Big Ten’s sudden pursuit of Oregon and Washington.
For the majority of the past year, Big Ten presidents and their media partner, Fox, have shown no interest in further West Coast expansion. Everything changed this week, effectively ending the Pac-12’s last-ditch bid for survival.
