Rival Schools Expected to Join Trojans in Big 10

The Big 10 is going to have some familiar faces!

The era of the Pac-12 might be slowly coming to an end. 

It's hard to think about, but teams are pivoting away from playing in the Pac-12 in favor of joining more prominent conferences like the Big 10 or Big 12. 

USC and UCLA started the trend when they announced their intention to play in the Big 10 last year. After Colorado announced its intent to play in the Big 12 last Thursday, Arizona followed not long after. The fate of the Pac-12 seems doomed.

Well, that fate might be even closer to becoming a reality because, according to ESPN senior college football writer Pete Thamel, Oregon, and Washington are expected to receive formal letters to join the Big 10.

Sources: Big Ten expected to move ahead with formal offer letters for Oregon and Washington. A Big Ten vote is expected to take place later today to formalize their admission, barring any last-minute snags.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 4, 2023

They'll join the Trojans and cross-town rival UCLA in the conference in what's becoming a wild Pac-12 land grab for other conferences.

One of the main reasons for leaving is the Pac-12's inability to secure a media rights deal that is the size of the Big 10's seven-year, $7 billion deal with FOX, CBS, and NBC.

And with bigger markets like LA and now Seattle with the addition of Washington, the deal keeps getting sweeter for the Big 10.

Let's take a look at all of the teams that have decided to leave the Pac-12 in the last year:

To Big 10: USC, UCLA, Oregon, Washington

To Big 12: Colorado, Arizona*

*It still isn't finalized that Arizona will be a part of the Big 12, but the two sides are expected to agree on a deal.

Still in Pac-12: Cal, Stanford, Oregon State, Washington State, Arizona State, Utah 

In the coming weeks, more teams in that last category might join other conferences. There have already been preliminary talks that Cal and Stanford could join the Big 10, which would push that conference to 20 schools total. 

As for the fate of the Pac-12, there's still hope that the conference could merge with the Mountain West and add some of their schools. 

Names like San Diego State, Boise State, Fresno State, and UNLV could find their way to the Pac-12.

The only thing I know for certain is that the Pac-12, if it's still around in 2024, is going to look significantly different without the Trojans and others.