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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.
Coverage:
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