Oregon and Washington will join Big Ten in 2024

The Pac 12 is crumbling before our eyes, and the Big Ten is about to get even bigger. As first reported by Brett McMurphy with Action Network, Oregon and Washington are expected to join the Big Ten.

In a release Friday evening, the Big Ten conference says that their Council of Presidents/Chancellors voted to admit Oregon and Washington into the conference, effective on Aug. 2, 2024.

“We are excited to welcome the University of Oregon and the University of Washington to the Big Ten Conference,” said Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti in the release. “We look forward to building long-lasting relationships with the universities, administrators and staff, student-athletes, coaches and fans...Both institutions feature a combination of academic and athletic excellence that will prove a great fit for our future.”

Oregon and Washington are the third & fourth Pac 12 defectors to come to the Big Ten over the last few seasons. UCLA and USC will be joining the Big Ten in 2024. The Big Ten conference will consist of 18 teams at this time next year.

We’ve witnessed the crumble of teams and conferences in college sports before, but the Pac 12 really feels like they’re having a clearance sale over the last few weeks. It was reported last week that Colorado will be joining the Big 12, and Thursday night, news broke that Arizona will be joining them.

In terms of how this move affects Michigan -- on one hand, both Oregon and Washington have rich football histories and could be worthy adversaries on the gridiron. On the other hand, having to travel that far for non-revenue sports, especially during the school year, seems less than ideal.

What are your thoughts on the newest Big Ten additions? Will you miss the Pac 12, and #Pac12AfterDark? As a night owl and terrible gambler, I certainly will. Let us know in the comments.