Report: Oregon Listed as Possible Target in Preliminary Big Ten Expansion Talks

Could the Ducks be headed to the Big Ten following Colorado's departure to the Big 12?

Oregon finds themselves in the midst of conference expansion talks once again. 

On Wednesday, just a day after details emerged of a new proposed Pac-12 media deal, Oregon was listed as a possible target according to a report from Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports.

A group of Big Ten presidents have begun exploratory discussions on expansion in light of Pac 12 uncertainty, industry sources tell Yahoo Sports.

Focus is on possibly adding Oregon and Washington to move to 18 members or Cal and Stanford to reach 20. https://t.co/0kJj4twFdq

— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) August 2, 2023

Washington, Stanford and Cal were also listed as possible targets as the conference looks toward moving to as many as 18 or 20 schools. 

This development comes on the heals of Colorado announcing it would be leaving the Pac-12 to return to the Big 12 last week.

The Pac-12 appears to be on life support not only because it lost USC and UCLA, two of the conferences most storied schools, but also because the new Pac-12 media deal looks like its primarily focused on streaming via Apple TV. 

Estimates show that each member school would receive around $20 million per year, and there's a lot of skepticism about how fruitful the deal will ultimately be compared to a more traditional linear deal rooted in standard television.

Oregon has been linked to the Big Ten as a possible expansion option since USC and UCLA announced they would be leaving the conference, and they could be tied at the hip with their rivals, the Washington Huskies, if they do in fact end up leaving the Pac-12.

The Ducks just signed head coach Dan Lanning to a large contract extension, which, given the timing of today's news, seems significant as Rob Mullens tries to ensure Oregon stays in a competitive conference and more importantly at the forefront of college football.