Oregon and Washington are reportedly moving to the Big Ten. This is following the inability of the Pac-12 to sign the grant of rights for the new media deal at the emergency meeting convened on Friday morning.
College football insider Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reported that Oregon and Washington's intend to accept invitations to the Big Ten. The Big Ten is expected to conduct a vote among its members later Friday to formally accept the two Pac-12 universities into its league.
The moves further cast a dark shadow on the future of the Pac-12 in college sports. The Pac-12 entered the meeting with a sense of optimism that its remaining members could end up staying together. However, the meeting did not turn out as expected.
The grant of rights would have established a legal commitment among the remaining Pac-12 schools, creating a challenging scenario for any school attempting to exit the conference. A few schools decided to explore realignment possibilities instead.
Oregon and Washington are set to join Big Ten
Oregon and Washington's move to the Big Ten is moving fast as a result of the earlier talks between all parties. In May, reports surfaced indicating that the Big Ten had thoroughly examined and approved the eligibility of both universities to join the conference.
Subsequently, the discussions experienced a deceleration over the following months due to a transition in the leadership of the conference's commissioner. However, the chaotic situations within the Pac-12 created room for the resumption of the realignment talks.
The presidents and chancellors of the Big Ten granted commissioner Tony Petitti the authorization to initiate the process of adding the two universities. This might be completed in the next hours should the conference vote to accept the Pac-12 schools, as expected.
Shifting to the Big Ten conference would bring substantial financial incentives for both Oregon and Washington. The Big Ten reportedly extended the universities a multi-year discounted media revenue offer, purportedly amounting to $35-40 million per school annually.
The Pac-12 is crumbling
The inability of the Pac-12 presidents to sign the grant of rights new media deal on Friday morning says a lot about the conference's future. The end might obviously be near, considering the number of schools aiming to jump ship after Colorado did so last week.
The Big 12 voted to accept Arizona on Thursday while Oregon and Washington will have the Big Ten vote for their acceptance in the coming hours. With a couple more teams on the move, this might be the end of Pac-12.
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