Adam Rittenberg, senior writer for ESPNSeptember 7, 2023, 01:29 PM ET
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- College Football Reporter.
- Joined ESPN.com in 2008.
- Graduate of Northwestern University.
Rosemont, Ill. -- Oregon and Washington's "inbound interest" in joining the Big Ten in the wake of Colorado's move from the Pac-12 to the Big 12 prompted the Big Ten at large last month to consider adding the two schools. encouraged, league commissioner Tony Pettitte told ESPN.
The Big Ten had focused on integrating new members USC and UCLA in 2024 and was not considering further expansion until late July. But Colorado's departure to the Big 12 on July 27, before Pac-12 schools looked at the proposal for streaming-based media rights, changed the landscape.
The Big Ten voted unanimously on August 4 to add Oregon and Washington.
"Oregon and Washington, they had real intent; they were working hard to make it an option for them," Pettitte said in his first extensive comment on the expansion. "They really wanted to be in the Big Ten. We felt that throughout the process."
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Oregon and Washington will join the Big Ten in 2024 but will not receive the full shares of media rights after that, which USC and UCLA will. Both will receive $30-35 million annually, according to sources, in part during the Big Ten's media contract with Fox, NBC and CBS, which runs through the 2029-30 athletic season. $1 million will increase.
Pettitte said current Big Ten members had "early acceptance" of adding Oregon and Washington but wanted to see how scheduling, finances and other issues would be resolved. The Big Ten's decision includes scheduling benefits for USC and UCLA to have two more members on the West Coast.
"We all felt that whatever side we looked at, it made us better," Pettitte said. "It just became a process of trying to figure out how. My job is to make sure the conference is as great in the future as it is today. There are opportunities to protect it and make sure we get better." are going to."
Pettitte said the Big Ten is currently not expanding beyond 18 members. The league is focused on its 2024 and 2025 football schedules, which will maintain the principles of the "Flex Protect Plus" model announced in June. Oregon and Washington will play annually as the 12th protected game for the league, and other protected games are possible, chief operating officer Kerry Kenney told ESPN.
The Big Ten is "days, if not weeks" away from announcing home-and-home opponents for the 2024 schedule, and will then finalize specific dates. The league will end the division after the 2023 season and its top two teams will play in its championship game.
Kinney said the Big Ten's priorities with its schedule include maximizing opportunities to reach an expanded College Football Playoff, for each team to play every other team as often as possible, and for travel and competitive trends. Also has to balance geography.
"We're making sure that we don't have outliers in terms of the hardest schedule or the easiest schedule for any of our teams, and working out how the competition ranks," Kenney said. should be balanced." "You're going to see a lot of things that people seem to like with FlexProtect Plus. We're going through different options to see how we balance not just the travel component of our Eastern and Central time zones. Schools but also the frequency of how we can get each of the four to play. School."
Pettiti agreed with SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey that the CFP format should be evaluated after the substantial changes that occurred over the summer. The original 12-team format called for the six highest-ranked conference champions and six at-large berths.
"Those situations are different," Pettiti said. "It's our job to make sure everything that's built makes sense. I'd say my No. 1. have access. As big and important as the College Football Playoff is, as big and strong as the Big Ten is, my focus in one season is to give as many teams a chance, when they get it, to compete for a national championship."
The CFP Management Committee will next meet on September 25 at the Big Ten offices. Pettitte said he didn't know a timetable for when the format would be finalized but said "there's a calendar that gives you a sense of when you're going to have to make decisions because at the end of the day, we're playing games." going to play."
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