Oregon Football's New Big Ten Conference Opponents: Rich History, Distance

Oregon Football fans will need to learn about more than a dozen new programs as the Ducks join the Big Ten Conference this year. From the history of the league to how far away each school is, take a look at the first in a series of stories breaking down Oregon Football's new opponents.

Nov 25, 2023; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes defensive tackle Michael Hall Jr. (51) / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA

When Oregon announced it would be leaving the Pac-12 Conference for the Big Ten in August, the Ducks still had an entire season to play out. That season resulted in a conference championship game appearance and a dominant effort in the Fiesta Bowl.

Now, it is time to get to know the new environment and "classmates" as the Ducks close out the school year and head to a new conference.

Table of Contents

1. Big Ten Conference History
2. Distance To Each School
3. Previous History
4. Future Schedules
5. New Classmates in the Big Ten Conference

Big Ten Conference History

The oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the nation, the Big Ten was founded in 1896 as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives, more commonly known as the Western Conference. Original members consisted of Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue, Wisconsin, and the University of Chicago.

Indiana and Iowa were added in 1899, leading the league to be referred to as the Big Nine. Nebraska was denied entry after petitioning to join in both 1900 and 1911.

Nov 25, 2023; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes defensive tackle Michael Hall Jr. (51) / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA

Michigan competed in the first Rose Bowl in 1901, beating Stanford 49-0. A few years later, the Wolverines were briefly voted out of the conference (1907-17) for breaking league rules.

The early years of the Big Nine were dominated by Michigan and Chicago, who combined for national championships from 1901 to 1905. Ohio State joined the league in 1912 and began notching conference titles in 1916.

In the pre-Associated Press (1936) era, the Big Ten claimed national championships in eight more years. From 1933 to 1942, Michigan (1), Minnesota (5), and Ohio State rattled off seven national titles.

During that stretch, Chicago's football program was abolished. The school officially left the league in 1946, dropping the number of members again to nine.

In 1950, Michigan State was added to return the league to 10. Membership would remain unchanged for the next 40 years, as Ohio State and Michigan dominated the conference title races, though Michigan State did add a trio of national championships.

In 1990, the Big Ten grew beyond that number with the addition of Penn State. The league would expand again in 2011 with Nebraska and in 2014 with Maryland and Rutgers.

The Big Ten, officially at 14 schools, will grow to 18 this year with the additions of Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington. These 18 programs have combined for 51 national titles.

Distance To Each School

Oregon Football will travel 15,222 miles in the program's inaugural Big Ten season. That doesn't include the conference foes not on the schedule for 2024.

Eventually, Oregon will travel to all 14 new league mates.

School	City, State	Miles from Eugene*
Illinois	Champaign-Urbana, Illinois	1,794.17
Indiana	Bloomington, Indiana	1,902.56
Iowa	Iowa City, Iowa	1,594.83
Maryland	College Park, Maryland	2,381.94
Michigan	Ann Arbor, Michigan	1,967.73
Michigan State	East Lansing, Michigan	1,923.5
Minnesota	Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota	1,465.9
Nebraska	Lincoln, Nebraska	1,358.2
Northwestern	Evanston, Illinois	1,779.49
Ohio State	Columbus, Ohio	2,057.19
Penn State	University Park, Pennsylvania	2,284.22
Purdue	West Lafayette, Indiana	1,852.84
Rutgers	New Brunswick–Piscataway, New Jersey	2,461.6
Wisconsin	Madison, Wisconsin	1,677.34

*Straight line distance. Travel distances will vary by route.

Previous History

The Ducks most recently played against a Big Ten team in 2021, a 35-28 win over No. 3 Ohio State. In total, Oregon has face the 14 current Big Ten programs 57 times, with 22 wins.

Oregon has winning records against four of the programs: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Michigan State. The Ducks have faced Ohio State more than any other program, playing 10 times with a 1-9 record.

UO has never played Maryland or Rutgers.

Future Schedules

The Big Ten Conference announced future league opponents in October. Those matchups are slated through the 2028 season.

Oregon's are listed below.

2024 Big Ten Opponents

Home: Illinois, Maryland, Michigan State, Ohio State, Washington

Away: Michigan, Purdue, UCLA, Wisconsin

2025 Big Ten Opponents

Home: Indiana, Minnesota, USC, Wisconsin

Away: Iowa, Northwestern, Penn State, Rutgers, Washington

2026 Big Ten Opponents

Home: Michigan, Nebraska, Northwestern, Northwestern, UCLA, Washington

Away: Illinois, Michigan State, Ohio State, USC

2027 Big Ten Opponents

Home: Iowa, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue

Away: Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, UCLA, Washington

2028 Big Ten Opponents

Home: Illinois, Michigan State, Rutgers, USC, Washington

Away: Indiana, Minnesota, Penn State, Wisconsin

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New Classmates in the Big Ten Conference

• Illinois
• Indiana | Part 1
• Iowa | Part 1
• Maryland
• Michigan | Part 1
• Michigan State
• Minnesota
• Nebraska
• Northwestern
• Ohio State
• Penn State
• Purdue
• Rutgers
• Wisconsin | Part 1

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