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"The Big Ten Presidents and Chancellors are
pleased to welcome the University of Oregon and the University
of Washington to the Big Ten Conference," Illinois chancellor
Robert Jones, the chair of the Big Ten Council of
Presidents/Chancellors, said in a release. "When considering the
full spectrum of academic, athletic and research excellence, the
alignment with our member institutions is extremely clear. We
are excited to welcome them and look forward to collaborating
and competing with them in the years ahead."
Oregon and Washington will follow UCLA and Southern California
from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten in 2024.
"We look forward to building long-lasting relationships with the
universities, administrators and staff, student-athletes,
coaches and fans," new Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti said in
the release. "Both institutions feature a combination of
academic and athletic excellence that will prove a great fit for
our future."
The latest realignment shockwave occurred after Colorado and
Arizona chose to leave the Pac-12 for the Big 12 beginning next
year. While the Pac-12 struggles to secure a new media rights
deal for football and other sports, reports also emerged Friday
night that Arizona State and Utah have applied for membership in
the Big 12.
Fellow Pac-12 schools Stanford and Cal could also be part of
future Big Ten expansion plans, Yahoo Sports reported earlier
this week. The four Pac-12 teams remaining are Stanford, Cal,
Oregon State and Washington State.
--Field Level Media
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