Ever since late June when UCLA and USC announced that they were leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten, there has been chatter that Oregon could follow suit sooner rather than later.
On Monday, Action Network’s Brett McMurphy reported that Oregon and the Big Ten have had “preliminary discussions” about such a move.
McMurphy reported that Oregon initiated the talks, although, according to one of his sources, neither outgoing university president Michael Schill, athletic director Rob Mullens or Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren were involved in the discussions, which McMurphy reported took place in Chicago.
McMurphy noted that as part of the Big Ten’s massive media rights deal it signed last week, there is a clause that it would be worth even more than the current $7 billion figure if the conference were to expand.
He also reiterated previous reporting that Notre Dame and the Pac-12’s Oregon, Washington, Stanford and Cal are targets of the Big Ten for expansion, and that the Pac-12’s Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Arizona State are potential targets for the Big 12 if that were to happen.