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The college football landscape is changing at an absolutely rapid rate these days.
Between conference realignment and NIL, the sport looks nothing like it did even 10 years ago.
The SEC has been at the forefront of the realignment discussion, first by adding Texas A&M and Missouri and then later making a big swing to land Texas and Oklahoma.
But the Big 10 has since hit back with an expansion of its own, adding USC and UCLA to the fold. As it turns out, the Big 10 may very well not be done expanding, either.
Matt Hayes of Saturday Out West reports that the Big 10 will likely return to the Pac-12 in search of further teams to add to its expansion.
“If anyone thinks the Big Ten isn’t coming back for more, they’re not following along,” an industry source told Saturday Out West this week.
The official end of the wildly underrated Pac-12 arrives when the Big Ten finds a media rights partner — network or cable television, and/or a streaming service — to foot the bill for the conference to add more schools from the Pac-12.
Because the Big Ten isn’t leaving USC and UCLA alone on the West coast. It must protect its investment.
The Big Ten won’t force student-athletes from 2 of its top 5 brands to play all road conference games from 1,500 (Lincoln, Neb.) to 2,800 miles (Piscataway, N.J.) from campus. When USC and UCLA begin Big Ten play in 2024, the top 5 pecking order of Big Ten brand recognition is Ohio State, Michigan, USC, UCLA and Penn State. – via Saturday Out West
Following the addition of USC and UCLA, there were immediate reports that the Big Ten could add other Pac-12 schools as well. Oregon and Washington were some of the first names to arise. But since then, it appears Cal and Stanford have come to the forefront.
That would give the Big Ten the entirety of California’s Power 5 football program, a move which could pay dividends on a number of fronts.