The Big Ten will include four new teams in 2024. With the Pac-12 dissolving following the exit of 12 of its member schools, UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington will be heading to the Big Ten. This means that the league will expand to 18 teams for the 2024 CFB season.
With the expansion, the conference released the full college football schedule in November last year. Now, new reports are coming out about a possible change that could lead to three out of the 18 teams missing out on tournament games when it comes to men's and women's basketball.
As per College Hoops Today, the Big Ten is planning on staying at 20 conference games after Oregon, Washington, UCLA and USC join in 2024-25. But in their conference tournament, there will be a change where only 15 teams will play starting in 2025. This means that three teams will be left out of the tournament.
Currently, all 14 teams in the conference play in the tournament. But as per The Athletic's Dana O'Neil, making it an 18-team tournament would mean that the conference will have to make it a six-day event. This, as per his sources, would be 'too unwieldy'.
Texas A&M could be a part of the Big Ten expansion in the near future as per reports
Texas A&M is rumored to be in talks to switch from the SEC to the Big Ten in the future as the Texas Longhorns are joining the SEC this year.
This means that they would occupy the same space when it comes to expanding the program, and with the Longhorns being the bigger team, the conference could be more inclined towards them.
CFB Insider Greg Swaim tweeted about this possible move and mentioned the implications it could have on the Aggies:
"Certainly not expecting it soon, but the #TAMU to the #B1G rumor does have legs," he tweeted. "More money, no #Longhorns and Aggies being told if they make this move will have veto power if Texas tries to move again."
It will be interesting to see how this scenario plays out.
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