Big Ten Conference accepts Oregon, Washington as new members in 2024

The Big Ten Conference announced Friday it will accept Oregon and Washington as new members next August, dealing another crushing blow to the Pac-12.

The Big Ten earlier in the day cleared the way for the Pacific Northwest rivals to join the league next year, and the Ducks were first to make it official with a brief video call that ended in a unanimous vote by its 13 trustees. The Big Ten a short time later said its presidents' council had voted to accept the Ducks along with Washington.

A little more than a year after the Big Ten poached Southern California and UCLA away from the Pac-12, it swiped away two more high-profile athletic programs from the storied West Coast conference.

In a crushing blow to the Pac-12, the Big Ten has cleared the way for Oregon and Washington to apply for membership and join the conference, four people with familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Friday.

The Ducks and Huskies still must officially apply for membership and the Big Ten presidents, who met Friday morning to discuss expansion, need to officially approve any moves. But the people who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity because the details are not being released publicly say the door is open; two of the people said the applications are expected to be approved unanimously.

The Big Ten's coup comes a little more than a year after it landed Southern California and UCLA from the Pac-12 and the move, when approved, will give the sprawling conference 18 member schools and four on the West Coast. The Big Ten will be the largest conference in major college sports, spanning 15 states from New Jersey to Washington.

Former Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren had encouraged member schools to strongly consider adding Oregon and