REPORT: Big Ten waiting on Notre Dame's decision before potential negotiations with Oregon, Washington
College athletics experienced an upheaval this week when news broke that Pac-12 Conference founding members USC and UCLA would cut ties with their West Coast affiliates to join the Big Ten Conference.
Just hours after word those intentions went public, the deal was done — all 14 members of the Big Ten unanimously voted to welcome the Trojans and Bruins.
The move sent shockwaves around collegiate athletics circles and, according to many reports, the aftershocks are still to come.
Soon, rumors began circling that fellow Pac-12 members Oregon and Washington would reach out to the Big Ten about membership. But, for now, the Big Ten is putting them on hold, according to a report by CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd.
Dodd tweeted on Friday that the Big Ten is to see what Notre Dame decides to do about the ever-changing landscape in college athletics.
Sources: Oregon and Washington have been told by @bigten that it is standing pat for now. Waiting on a decision by Notre Dame.
— Dennis Dodd (@dennisdoddcbs) July 1, 2022
Notre Dame and the Big Ten Conference have a long history of not getting along all that well. The conference denied entry attempts by Notre Dame several times in the early 1900s and then, suddenly, the shoe was on the other foot in the 1990s when long-time Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney tried to woo the Irish into joining the league.
But Notre Dame wasn't having it.
The 'Independent' status of the Fighting Irish became an honored tradition, even if it was tainted somewhat in 2012 when Notre Dame agreed to play an average of five football games per year against ACC foes.
But with USC and UCLA jumping over to the Midwest's premier conference, Notre Dame's days as an independent program may be numbered, and the Big Ten makes the most sense for the Fighting Irish if they indeed decide to break tradition and join a league.
The ACC can't provide Notre Dame the TV revenue that the Big Ten can, and the SEC — at the moment — is not home to any of the Fighting Irish's traditional rivals like USC, Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue and others.
With the inclusion of USC and UCLA, the Big Ten will expand to 16 schools starting in 2024-25, but most suggest that this is only the beginning for what is likely to become one of two super-conferences alongside the SEC.
Oregon and Washington are both viable options for further Big Ten expansion but, for now, the Big Ten awaits the decision from that school in South Bend, Ind.
