Posted
6/30/22

 








USC, UCLA ASK FOR AND RECEIVE
BIG TEN MEMBERSHIP

WEST COAST JOINS BIG TEN FOR 2024 SEASON;
BIG TEN, SEC POISED TO CREATE "SUPERCONFERENCES"
AND END NCAA RULE OF MAJOR COLLEGE ATHLETICS





In a series of head-spinning events on Thursday, the Big Ten grew to 16 teams and expanded to cover the entire United States with the shocking additions of USC and UCLA. ESPN and other reports indicated that the two schools, members of the Pac-12 for nearly a century, reached out to the Big Ten seeking membership. The Big Ten's presidents and chancellors, in a private vote, accepted the new members unanimously.
 
I expect the rest of the summer will be spent figuring out the ramifications of this change to the Big Ten and Pac-12, for academic research (likely a huge benefit to both the Big Ten and the new schools), football (please enjoy the 9:00 a.m., snow storm kickoffs, beach bums!), and Olympic sports (wildcards, yes, we've got wildcards everywhere).

UPDATE #1-- By Friday, reports circulated that the Big Ten might not yet be done with the current wave of expansion, and that the conference's attention was focused-- yet again-- on South Bend. If Notre Dame decides to join the Big Ten (reversing over a century of hostility toward the conference), it could trigger a new wave of moves to the Big Ten, including Oregon and possibly Stanford and Washington. Obviously, more to come...

UPDATE #2-- It appears that the new expansion will stop with UCLA and USC-- for now. The Big 12 and the ACC are both eyeing potential expansion schools, several from the remaining Pac-12 schools, in an effort to hang with the emerging Big Ten and SEC superconferences. Notre Dame, enjoying its usual position as the belle of the ball, has chosen to sit back and enjoy the attention. Hopefully, the Big Ten will satisfy its manifest destiny elsewhere and leave the Irish to twist in the wastes of South Bend.



Updated: HTP future schedules page is now a hotbed of chaos.

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