Breaking News: Big Ten Conference Adds Washington and Oregon, Expands to 18 Teams in 2024 | B1G Live

Big Ten is getting even bigger a momentous day in the history of the nation's oldest Athletic Conference as West Coast Powers Oregon in Washington accept invitations to join the Big Ten next season the conference planted a flag out west a year ago today it doubled down on that Geographic news now boasting arguably the West Coast four biggest athletic brands welcome in to our coverage here on the Big Ten Network day for Epson and Jake butt I'm gonna have a ton of guests here to add perspective on this huge Day Oregon and Washington joining and and Jake I think right off the top just have to turn it and look at what's behind us last year of course we went from the Atlantic to the Pacific now it's nearly from the border of Mexico to the border of Canada it is amazing the reach now of this conference your thoughts on a year ago I think it was a jaw-dropping day this one a little more anticipated given the way that the Pac-12 has slowly eroded here over the last week I got that feeling in my stomach on on like Christmas Eve right where there's just exciting news on the horizon we've been following this over the past day couple days past couple hours and then finally confirming it and and you mentioned looking at that graphic those Brands what they mean and we were talking about in the pre-show having the Big Ten Conference emblem right there I'm excited I'm excited as an analyst to cover these games and welcome them to our conference but as a player too for these guys the chance to play in some of these Premier matchups going forward excited is almost an understatement some amazing venues you're talking about an Oregon football program that is among the 10 winningest this Century in college football Washington among the 20 winningest programs of all time so some great pedigree with these programs as well gonna get the first of our many guests on right now Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports in the athletic joins us now and Bruce let's talk first about this day because this day to me was crazy with the ups and downs I mean the reports early in the day were that this might not happen then the reports were that it was going to happen and then of course ultimately it did give us a sense in terms of what you know of the Ebbs and flows of what turned out to be kind of a one-day roller coaster ride yeah about about 24 hours ago from now um Dave I I remember talking to somebody and it felt like okay this is happening and it's going to go in this direction um because you're going to get two as you as you guys both said real legit National brands with with elite football programs at A Cut Rate and it was going to work out from a TV standpoint it was going to work out from a timing standpoint um I would disagree with what you said it's about the big about the Pac-12 a bit ago it was rapidly dissolving in front of us not just like eroding was an understatement yeah yeah so it was going in that direction and then I had woke up and I had seen some some news reports or some tweets that were talking about how people inside the Pac-12 are quote cautiously optimistic this morning they've been cautiously optimistic for months and I think they've been waiting and waiting and really disappointed by how the leadership has managed its negotiations from a TV standpoint and just kind of baffled by it at the same time and finally you know these two schools felt like hey we cannot afford to pass this situation up and this is this is a huge deal in terms of you know there's a lot of this I think obviously scheduling wise is going to have to change for a year from now in terms of what they were going to put on the field but I also think it does give USC and UCLA travel Partners um not just in football but in other sports and I think the timing of this in terms of the money you know on the next deal which is whatever seven years from now I think then they come in as a fall as a full partner but to get to get these two schools and these two Brands and these two markets quite honestly because Seattle's obviously a big TD Market as as well I think that's really significant for the Big Ten as as a uh as a Powerhouse from that standpoint yeah no doubt adding two top 25 television markets in terms of size in the U.S you use the term a moment ago Cut Rate and you were talking a little bit about the financial Arrangement what do we know definitively at this point Bruce in terms of what this deal means financially for the conference and then by extension for each one of these schools yeah I think it goes it starts out in the 30s the low 30s and then it will kind of gradually escalate a little bit to the end of the deal but again I think we're talking about 20 30 before the next deal but if so look at it from this standpoint if you're Oregon or Washington you were going to probably be left with a TV deal or some kind of digital deal that was gonna bring in south of 30 million dollars from from my understanding and then you also run the risk I think this was a legitimate concern for them uh how are we going to recruit this way if if less people are going to see our product we're just not going to be out there as much because right now I mean Washington just had a had a terrific first year under Kailyn de Boer same thing with with Dan Lanning and Oregon they are both recruiting well but if they all of a sudden now are going to get marginalized by the from an exposure standpoint I think that was a big problem for them as they as they assessed everything so look there's a lot of stuff that I think still needs to be sorted out on some of the some of the micro aspects of this but I just think from that standpoint like you know it if you're Oregon I brought this up to somebody earlier today you know we know Phil Knight the biggest booster out there is up in his 80s and I've always heard that the you know the one thing you want to see while he's still alive is is Oregon finally win a National Title in football um you know maybe there's an easier path coming out of what what was left of the Pac-12 the next couple years but I think it was going to diminish their opportunities going forward that is interesting right you think about the highest ranked uh teams in each one of those conferences making it to the college football playoff the the highest ranked champions of each conference certainly the path would have been easier as you say in a diminished Pac-12 than it would be in an 18 Team league but again they have a lot of confidence in their brand I I almost hesitate to ask you this last question here Bruce because I don't want you to end up like on Old takes exposed raving like that but do you think the Big Ten is done at this point I would think it's done I I don't know what makes more sense from a TV standpoint to shoehorn this in um at least from uh going west I think it's done I don't know if there's AC you know like the ACC right now is a huge mess with its grant of rights issues and where Florida state is I I don't know how some of that stuff is going to play out I don't know if anybody knows because you're talking about potential Court battles and there's just a lot of you know there's unusual stuff that goes on in realignment this is next level unusual that seems to be going on with the ACC so I I don't know I think right now the Big Ten is in a really really good place with what they've added because we're talking about by the way you know Ohio State won a national title the team they had to beat to do it is now in the conference right and Washington was in the playoff not that long ago with Chris Peterson so I think they're in a really good position I think at one point you have to wonder are we adding to get better and I'm not sure who they would necessarily add if it was unwieldy or how it would play out in terms of you know the how the money and the exposure all comes together yeah to your point these are the two Pac-12 teams that have played in the college football playoff organ in Washington and as you mentioned the Ducks playing for two national championships one in the cfp and one in the old BCS Bruce great stuff really appreciate it and obviously we will keep in touch with you as all of this unfolds thank you guys my pleasure so here's what's going on now in the realignment world we had UCLA and USC that we've known about for a year joining the Big Ten in 2024 Oregon and Washington added to that group The Big 12 seems to be very much in flux we know about BYU Cincinnati Houston UCF they actually begin competition this year now they're of course seems to be a distinct possibility that Arizona and Utah and Arizona state would join that League at some point as well and then we already know about the SEC Oklahoma and Texas that that kind of started this whole process when those two were added to the SEC so what is the Big Ten getting in Oregon and Washington in Oregon they're getting a score just under 20 0.34 all-time national championships they are a dominant running school it is important to note that 32 of their NCAA championships have come in track and cross-country have had some great Olympians through the years and then Washington a significantly large your school 11 all-time national championships and great Olympians as well boys in the boat of course that was Washington they have a great crew program but we're focused on football right now here Jake and we'll talk about the ramifications for some of the Olympic sports and for basketball later in the show but at first blush based on what we heard from Bruce what you saw there what stands out here well it's it's it almost encapsulates what stands out even goes all the way back to last year going back to Oklahoma and Texas of this changing landscape in college football this thing has been set in motion for a while now and of course there was uncertainty and now to have it confirmed that you're adding this it feels like a big move and yet there's still uncertainty in the future is what what are the next moves going forward um when we added USC at UCLA there was the question of travel there was a question of the non-revenue generating Sports this is a move that helps answer some of those questions as well and then another piece that Bruce mentioned was the path to winning a national championship it was a a goal of Phil Knight to see Oregon win a National Championship and you can make the argument that you know the Pac-12 might be an easier path as it stands right now to me it's an easier path to get into the dance absolutely but it doesn't mean anything to your ceiling and actually joining the Big Ten I think helps your ceiling for every reason he said from a recruiting standpoint now we obviously have nil and that's exploding so just being on National coverage joining the Big Ten fan bases the exposure both these schools are going to get is a perfect marriage I mean I think you make a really interesting point it's a harder sell to a recruit when you're in that conference that has again seen its quality diminish versus being in a premier conference like the Big Ten clearly is the largest conference now in the history of college football and one with Incredible brands as a player as someone who's been recruited to the highest level programs in the country ultimately obviously ended up playing at Michigan what's the appeal here to playing in a conference as Broad and Powerful as this one this it's it's an honor every time you take the field it's it's an honor to to strap on your helmet and play the game but there's no denying the fact that when there's a game with greater implications outside of just that specific Saturday you get up for it you get excited for it the week of the practice leading up to it when you're walking around entering class there's a different Buzz to it and again both these teams as they stand this year I mean they're in that National Title college football playoff conversation they're in great great positions and now you get the chance to do do that on a weekend week out basis we're gonna see some amazing matchups and as a player as a competitor that's just adds to the excitement I agree with you in terms of this year I mean these programs you look at what Dan Lanning did at Oregon uh coming over from Georgia and and really getting that thing going again in just a year's time Caitlin Deborah I mean Michael penix is a Heisman Trophy candidate this year so these are both programs that are on excellent footing as they prepare for a final year in the Pac-12 and then to enter the Big Ten yeah and the momentum of that matters too like this this adds to momentum right as a recruit you look at branding like hey what do I want to be a part of this program and everything it encapsulates so the momentum for just as you mentioned two new head coaches both have great quarterbacks as well the chance to go build some momentum put a stamp on a successful season then you add that to everything you can sell about the Big Ten Conference to the recruits they should be in position not just in the near term but going forward as well what do you think in terms of the teams that are already in the league take it from the perspective of someone who played at Michigan say you're there say you're at any other school among the 14 currently in the league what would be the implications of this to you and again knowing you're already going to play at UCLA or USC and now the opportunity to compete against Oregon and Washington well it's going to get more challenging for some teams that's for sure I mean these are these are as for every reason we just said these are two great football teams so there's and especially considering we're doing away with divisions it's going to get more challenging the teams in the west that were at a spot guaranteed in Indy to play for the Big Ten Championship that was already going to be harder doing away with divisions now you had these two teams but again why college football like you start as a kid watching this on TV and you you grow up watching all these big time players and say man I want to play in that game where your entire town your entire State the entire nation is watching you so adding these two Brands when these guys play as we mentioned these are top two top 25 TV markets that's great exposure so whoever it is in the conference whatever player whatever coach you're going to be on nationally televised Prime Time games on a weekend week out basis that's exciting yeah it's huge from that point of view no doubt about it you also mentioned we've been talking a bit about this from the perspective of the Olympic sports I realized you played football but there had been concern about the travel and it feels like that gets diminished somewhat with this that it becomes a little bit easier and look I spoke to people we were at USC and UCLA this summer I spoke with an administrator from some of the USC women's sports programs Olympic sports and she was saying she thought this was going to be overstated anyway that they were going to be able to rearrange their non-conference schedule and still have maybe one more long trip than they would have had otherwise but this now gives you some team they're not right around the corner right like well let's look at our geography here right I mean it's a ways from Eugene and Seattle to Los Angeles but it's closer and these are trips that they were already making and it just feels like it gives you more ways to strategically put this together it buys you a little bit of insurance really football it's not going to be a huge issue with football just in you play one game every single week but some of these other sports baseball basketball softball some of the Olympic sports where you're playing three four times the amount of games in the season that can be a lot of travel especially your student athletes though you still do have to go to classes but now adding two more teams on that west coast line again it's just like you mentioned Dave it just buy some insurance for those other sports it's going to help them maintain that that standard of a student athletes again makes sense for teams in the Big Ten on a lot of different levels and clearly made sense for Oregon and Washington here is what the University of Oregon had to say about the development simple straightforward University of Oregon will join the Big Ten Conference in 2024 hashtag go Ducks joined Now by Fox's lead game analyst Joel Klatt who joins us to talk about today's huge news just at first blush Joel as this went from a possibility here probably over the last year frankly but certainly a heightened possibility over the last couple of weeks to a reality today your thoughts on what has transpired yeah you know I mean it's a bit surprising but at the same time um you know I thought for the better part of the last year that there was a real path forward for the Pac-12 the 10 schools that we're going to be in the in the Pac-12 moving forward and you know when the Big 12 got the basically the loan remaining television deal out there to get there was one slice of pie left they got that slice of pie it became incredibly difficult for the Pac-12 to land a media deal and without a media deal you don't really have you know a conference and so once the membership actually saw what was out there for them and and they saw this subscription package that was laid before them in the last week I think that's when it actually became imminent to them that there was going to need to be a Lifeline somewhere they they were going to need to leave uh because through revenue and exposure both of those were going to fall woefully short with the deal that was proposed to the membership in the Pac-12 and so at that point this resurfaced you know at no point in the last year did I really think that this was a possibility Oregon and Washington to the Big Ten but recent events kind of brought it to fruition and and at this point you know I a lot of people will say like boy the Big Ten swoops in and we're maybe in a predatory position but they weren't this is much more of a Lifeline this is a Lifeboat off the Titanic if you will and and the Titanic in this case the Pac-12 hit the iceberg a long time ago and at this point it's just time to get off the deck and and the Big Ten is there um to offer Oregon and Washington uh a Lifeline it does a couple of things one is I think that the premium aspect of each of these football programs fit in the Big Ten obviously the academics with Washington fit in the Big Ten and it also if you talk with some of the the people around the Big Ten they they will tell you that one of the most difficult parts of the last 12 months since the USC and UCLA announcement was trying to figure out the non-revenue scheduling and and how is travel going to work and and what was that going to look like with basically a national conference this alleviates some of that not all of it but some of that and makes it a little bit more feasible so so from that standpoint 12 months later after USC and UCLA when all of a sudden the Titanic is about to go down I think that it made more sense at this point and and and to be honest you know I think Oregon and Washington are incredibly grateful uh for for what the Big Ten is offering right now these feel like really good fits certainly from a football point of view they're both programs that are in really good shape right now relatively new head coaches but a lot of Buzz around both of them so let's take one at a time give us a sense first for Oregon the ducks have been the higher profile of these two football programs certainly this Century historically I think you would argue that that is Washington that's been the higher profile one but give us a sense first off of what the big tent is getting with Oregon football I think Oregon is is one of the uh most unsung fan bases in all of college football I think it's an unbelievable venue at Austin Stadium probably one of my favorites to be quite honest in fact it's it's very similar to kinnick um it's loud but kind of small great fan base tough place to play very unique uh and it reminds me of that Iowa fan base in in a lot of ways and they have been listen when it comes to West Coast Football you can make a strong argument that obviously USC has had their pockets of success over the last 25 years but really Oregon has been one of the most consistent if not the most consistent football brand on the west coast over the last 25 years it's important to them they invest in it they have hired great coaches and invested in the staffs for the each of those coaches they recruit at a high level and I think this is this is a big fit and a good fit for them in the Big Ten moving forward in particular with the landscape that we just discussed in the last question and then from the Washington perspective this is a very proud program and Husky Stadium is one of the best stadiums in the country and and one of the best road trips I I can't tell you how excited Big Ten fans should be about going to these four locations playing in Pasadena and Eugene and and Seattle and Los Angeles the these are incredible road trips incredible venues and and I can't wait to see how it all plays out and really integrates over the next couple of years I know yeah the setting for Husky Stadium is one of the great ones in all of college football and Big Ten fans as you say will get a chance to perhaps make that road trip and follow their team what does this tell you about Tony batidi and we're talking very early in his tenure and you're in a situation where kind of as you said here Joel you had to either you make a move or you don't make a move right you couldn't be in a position where you said well we'll wait it out we'll wait a month or even a couple weeks and see how this plays out because these are such big time Brands because it would be such interest in them with the Pac-12 dissolving what does it tell us about Tony batini and his leadership that he made this move well I I think it tells you that he is clear-eyed and and able to be uh incredible in terms of being malleable I think some of the greatest leaders whether you're in sports or not in sports are are ones that understand what they're looking at and and they see it with clear eyes and and that's I think what Tony had in this situation he understood the landscape he knew what was going on and he said listen this is very different than 12 months ago um and there's an opportunity here to help two programs that will help us at the Big Ten Conference and and I would be you know remiss to not look at this from a business standpoint and and now Tony's got to think to himself listen there's an opportunity for a fourth window of college football just in one conference um that's that's going to be valuable I don't I don't know where it lands but I think that that's something that he looked at and and he he saw an opportunity there and and took it but in in no way did I think that Tony was I talked to him at length I mean we we did a big interview this summer this was not on his radar again it was the events that took place within the Pac-12 that led them to a Breaking Point at that moment you know you're either a Lifeboat or you're not and Tony saw an opportunity to be a Lifeboat bring two premium Brands into his conference to make his conference even stronger in particular moving forward um and and he did it and I think that it shows great you know patience resolve execution deal making skills and and most importantly those Clear Eyes of looking at reality and understanding what he's looking at yeah to your point very clear at Big Ten media days he was focused on integrating USC and UCLA wasn't thinking about expansion but again the events dictated uh far different direction Joe Clark could talk about this with you for hours but appreciate the minutes that you gave us thanks so much my friend have a good weekend absolutely good to see you again and uh Hey Seasons around the corner it's almost football time so absolutely right the Big Ten making it official today with this statement this is the beginning of what was a lengthy statement from the league the Big Ten Council of presidents and chancellors voted today to admit the University of Oregon and the University of Washington to the Big Ten Conference effective August 2nd 2024 with competition to begin in all sports for the 2024-25 Academic Year with the school's admission Oregon and Washington will also join the Big Ten Academic Alliance a Consortium of world-class research institutions dedicated to advancing their academic missions and both these schools of course with fine academic reputations both in the AAU Andy Katz joins us now and Andy let's dive into this a little bit from a basketball point of view and I think if you look in recent years certainly Oregon has been very prominent with Dane Altman he took them to a final four Mike Hopkins has taken over at Washington last couple years little shaky but gone off to a nice start there give us some insight into each one of these hoops programs well both have great history uh you're right recently both have struggled um Oregon has missed out the last couple Washington the last four in fact Washington went to the NCAA tournament only one so far under Mike Hopkins that was in his second season whereas Dan Altman has been their seven of the eleven he he's been there including that final four in 2017. um you know there's history with Oregon and Big Ten teams in the NCAA tournament Oregon knocked out Iowa uh they have played Wisconsin um you know there's no question though that Talent at Oregon certainly with the Nike influence has been there throughout the course of Dana alden's tenure you can go back to when Ernie Kemp was there uh as for Washington Lorenzo Romar Mike Hopkins they have consistently had high level Talent Washington in the Seattle area is fertile recruiting ground uh so there's no question that both these programs have great history good rivalries with USC and UCLA uh the more intriguing thing for me looking forward Dave is what's going to happen in 2425 and my understanding it's way early now is the inkling will be to stay at 20 League games so we could have 14 one plays singles and three teams you play twice you know who are those three teams uh what's the men's and women's basketball tournaments going to look like where they're going to be uh I can't imagine a scenario where we're not going to see the tournament start on a Tuesday assuming everyone does get invited that could be whole other discussion so you know a lot of things are going to have to happen really quickly as you know we don't have uh basketball tournament sites after next season in Minnesota so a lot of decisions quickly the scheduling obviously in football and all the sports and men's and women's basketball is going to start happening really quickly and the other point I want to make real quick Dave is that this is going to be a nightmare going forward not just with the big 10 going to 18. you know whatever that final number is in the Big 12 the SEC you know in the first round of the NCAA tournament they always try to avoid those conference match-ups right off the bat that's almost going to be impossible to avoid when we get to the NCAA tournament for the men and the women because these conferences have so many teams yes if you end up with a dozen teams making the tournament or maybe even more I I do think it becomes as you say just logistically very difficult to avoid it tell us about the Arenas here for each one of these teams the Matthew Knight Arena for Oregon and then heck Edmondson for Washington I the the privilege of calling the women's NCAA attorney there I think it's a great building but for people who haven't been to either one of these buildings give them a sense for them well I've been to both uh I have to say I love the old Oregon building I know it needed to be redone it kind of reminded me of the old field house uh at Wisconsin I saw an unbelievable Oregon Arizona game there years ago just it's a sweat box but they moved on for that Matthew Knight Arena um it's you know it's a gorgeous facility um attendance has been shaky at times but I'm fully confident that when the teams that you know certainly the right teams come in they'll pack it I love Washington's uh when Washington is good I think that's one of the best home court environments certainly on the west coast it is intimate it is cozy it's the perfect size for them and those that have not been to that UW campus it is absolutely spectacular in football you've got the water just you can see it from the stadium uh and then obviously in basketball the basketball arena is sort of right near there and so you walk up there it's just a absolutely a gorgeous setting and you know bringing in C Seattle and then the Eugene Portland area not easy to get to Eugene as you know Dave but um you know there are direct flights I think maybe from Chicago I'm not quite sure certainly uh you know Northern California but um uh there's no question that bringing those markets in in the general Portland area Seattle is a huge win-win uh for the Big Ten uh and you know I was just texting with Mick Cronin who's going to be joining obviously next year the head coach at UCLA so they're they're thrilled obviously they have some Partners uh that they're familiar with but I can tell you from all these coaches they want to be on the good side here and I say that and they want to be in the conference that they know is going to be around that's got stability and there's no question that the Big Ten has it Andy you have such a great pulse on everything going on in college sports and as you say the Big Ten is in an advantageous position here what does this mean for the schools left behind here I mean it's crazy to think right now that Stanford does not appear to have a home a program that literally has the best overall athletic department in the country year in and year out Berkeley of course finds itself in a similar situation Washington State Oregon State what does this mean for those schools well there's no question that Washington State and Oregon State make sense for the Mountain West I mean they are much more Mountain West schools uh just had a Pac-12 and prior to that pac-10 Banner behind them so they really are more of a fit for the Mountain West like Colorado State Boise State they do really fit that narrative you know the problem with Stanford and Cal and and I saw this last fall at the Pac-12 media day when I was there with you know when talking to those representatives there was just a lack of commitment to Athletics and a real curiosity of are they going to really Buy in now what happened with Cal was interesting because in hiring Mark Madsen you know potentially away from Stanford we'll see if Jared Haas survives there long term but they did make a commitment to basketball that they had not made under Mark Fox uh so now Cal I think is in a little different spot than Stanford I do think that you know football wise certainly Stanford has a chance to be an independent they've got the history they've got good rivalries that they played Notre Dame and other schools like that I can't see it with Cal I think Cal is in a much tougher predicament of what they're going to do do they agree to be in the Mountain West they've had a bit of a you know air superiority because it's a great academic institution in the UC system obviously Cal and UCLA are the two best in that system So Cal I think is in a real tough spot Stanford I do think would have options as a football independent and it's you know Olympic sports uh and men's basketball could certainly they could certainly join the Mountain West or some other conference whether it's West Coast you name it people are going to want their non-revenue Sports because they're some of the best in the country if not the best but Cal's the one that I really don't know where they're going to fit if they end up just joining them out and West now that the Big Ten really it seems like for now has capped it with the addition of Washington and Oregon that is indisputably the biggest subtext of this day of course it's a great day for the Big 10 but there is a lot of discussion about what happens these schools and then just more broadly the dissolution of a conference has been around since 1915 I mean incredible Changing Times here in college athletics and cats thanks a lot for your insights really appreciate it thanks Dave as we look at the timeline of expansion for the Big Ten of course Penn State joining in 1990 adding an 11th team to the Big Ten Nebraska joined in 2011 that gave the Big Ten the opportunity to have a championship game in football with 12 teams Maryland and Rutgers that was the East Coast move in 2014 Oregon UCLA USC and Washington in 2024 will constitute the West Coast move of the Big Ten Washington Athletics at UW Athletics a very similar concise and to the point as with Oregon saying the University of Washington will join the Big Ten Conference in 2024 and then augmenting that would be hashtag go Huskies Jake as you listen to Andy there what thoughts went through your head well just and you brought this up too Dave the the the schools that are left behind right that's a piece of this in college fan bases are extremely passionate so as great as this is for some of the schools of course Oregon Washington we're excited to to welcome them to the Big Ten Conference there is some schools that are left kind of in limbo right now and and there's really no Clarity or true answers on where that's going to end up no it's really tough to see no doubt about it and these are proud programs and proud universities and I mean you know honestly the autopsy on the Pac-12 is is fascinating I mean I think they're going to be reams of materials here on kind of how this went wrong a conference that was so strong and and so proud historically and and kind of has fallen apart and I kind of has fallen apart here uh from the Big Ten point of view again as you kind of hear about the addition of these programs about going to Oregon and going to Washington and think more broadly about the the broad-based athletic programs that each one of these schools has what stands out to you well even just to take it a slightly different direction when we showed that graphic of even going back to 1990 with the addition of Penn State and and how the Big Ten has expanded over time you know I wasn't even born in 1990 for that right unless you go there I I had to say it I had to say it but uh I was at Michigan when Maryland did Rutgers 2014 I was a sophomore I remember playing both those schools when they were new you know 2011 I was still in high school so whenever there's change I just think there's a little bit of it's excitement it's nervousness it's okay this is new and there's a period where you're feeling out but Penn State is the Big Ten now Nebraska is the Big Ten Maryland record we don't blink anymore so there's there's a period of change where it is a little bit new but if you can project five ten years down from the line it's going to be all we know I would agree and I was in college and actually on a board which had to consider the addition of Penn State's a league A small and inconsequential board but we were talking about what the ramifications would be and it did seem so foreign at that time and so crazy that Penn State would join the Big Ten and now as you say you have entire generations of people who know nothing other than Penn State in the Big Ten there is kind of this this constancy of change this is kind of the the world we live in and this is one of those changes that I think on its surface certainly geographically this is much different this is much different and it was much different a year ago because it was the first time the Big Ten had not gone to contiguous states but now all of a sudden as you fit these pieces together it makes a lot more sense and in even to say it's different on so many levels I'm curious I would love to talk to you sometime about what the TV deals were looking like were you guys talking about certainly not these types of numbers and that's a big piece of this too I mean the way we consume content is changing and the priority and the value of live sports particularly football here in America is Sky High and it's only increasing over time too and that's where you start to see these numbers and it it has to be considered as we heard Joel clatt talk about it had the financial aspect has to be considered oh no absolutely and I mean it's largely about Television right I mean why did the Pac-12 fall apart I mean It ultimately fell apart because they were not able to come up with a television deal I mean that's it that's the the bottom line on all of this so again what made sense for the Big Ten and what the right schools were for the Big Ten obviously you feel like these four make a ton of sense but as to why they were available yes I mean that's about TV yeah and and that's a piece of this too is Joel Joel said hey this wasn't a predator predatory move by the Big Ten they weren't going out and saying hey this was kind of something that unfolded once the Pac-12 looked at it and said okay these teams this is the money you guys will have to work with and then you see the opportunity to then join the Big Ten I think he used the analogy of like a sinking ship and the Big Ten was able to throw out a uh a Lifeboat to him so it's a win-win in both situations also Andy mentioned the stability of the conference for these two these two universities uh USC and UCLA as well to sleep easy at night because the Big Ten safe yeah in fact it's it's gonna only get better over time right absolutely I mean you are in a position now where you look at the shifting landscape and you say what can I do for my school if you're in a leadership position in any you have to you have what can I do and how can I position us to survive and that is the decision that Oregon and Washington made here today in in joining the Big Ten to take a look at the football Tradition at the University of Washington I mentioned in the top 20 all-time in wins 40 bowl games and only three schools who have been to more Rose Bowls than Washington they are USC Michigan and Ohio State you see a rich tradition for the Huskies Oregon has a very rich recent tradition in the top 10 in winning percentage this Century kind of started to get it turned around in the mid 90s under Rich Brooks and then kind of took off from there and they have done it with wide open offenses and a guy who knows the thing or two about that he was the offensive coordinator at Oregon under Chip Kelly and then took over the program himself Mark helfrich who led them to the national championship game against Ohio State a number of years ago he joins us now current Fox sports analyst and Coach give us the Oregon perspective first of all on this day what this means to the University of Oregon University of Oregon specifically in their in their fan base I mean a lot a lot a ton of positives the the stabilizing nature of of a conference like the Big Ten and uh uh probably in in their minds where they should end up along with with uh Washington uh as you as you just alluded to their their Rich history and then uh just kind of inevitable uh once SC and UCLA broke and they kind of made those made those threats for a long time for many many years of of leaving and they kind of finally called The Bluff and weren't able to ever get that that done and some form of this some form of today in the last couple days was was I guess just the only the word is inevitable uh no matter where everybody else ended up and then and then fat I think sad in a lot of ways I heard Jake just talking about it's it's sad in a place like Paul and Washington or a place like Corvallis Oregon those are two of the greatest venues in college football to the British campuses out there and and uh it remains to be seen what what happens tell us a little bit more about Oregon I mean I think we all nationally know about the brand they have done an amazing job with branding with uniforms but all of that stuff only takes you so far I mean this has been a really good program I mentioned you had them in the national championship game they were in a national championship game prior to that as well this Century so they've had two times where they were one win away from winning the national title Oregon has built this largely around offense give us an idea of the ethos kind of around this Oregon program and how they've gotten it going no doubt about that Oregon you know founded the conference in 1915 with with Oregon State and then it was Washington and Cal those were the original four members and added on here or there and Rich Brooks kind of you know would definitely be the guy that credited with with coming to the Forefront with ironically now Penn State in the same conference uh in that Rose Bowl game uh and then and then Phil Knight along with Mike belotti and everybody else came together and and uh made it what it is today and obviously everybody talks about the hype and you know when you're there you're all stuck trying to trying to earn that hype and earn that substance the the reality which went between or sorry behind the the hype and now now just a new dawn new day it'll be it'll be fascinating to see how this uh plays out from a scheduling standpoint uh you know with the Big Ten as you guys well know how they're you know Gone Gone without divisions going forward and now it's got to scramble how we figure all that out again how important have facilities been in all this coach for Oregon's rise well you know huge in terms of of getting getting people to visit for for the longest time uh you know Oregon Oregon is a small place from a population standpoint small town great college town where it's located um but you know not a lot of time a ton of in-state Talent there's obviously exceptions to to that Justin Herbert being one of those guys he might made some some headlines recently um but uh yeah facilities uh yeah again Phil and Penny night having the the ability to to subsidize uh a lot of these options that they that they were thinking about here in the last couple weeks what can you tell us about the Rivalry with Washington to what extent does that exist I think it's it's it's a good hate it's a great hate um the the Oregon State Oregon and Washington rivalries like like you know like I said I've been over both a hundred years each and and uh it's it's a great healthy hate I know that Washington will be excited and and in that corner of of the map uh where they belong you know kind of with the the michigans of the world the Ohio States of the world uh from an academic perspective and a football perspective uh but it's you know a ton of respect for what they've done there the other one that strikes me is really interesting is the Rivalry between Oregon and USC and it's been to a large extent a recruiting rivalry I mean I know Oregon has gone heavily into Southern California and it's lured away some top players that's a huge priority for Lincoln Riley for people who don't know about that how real is that rivalry well it is real and a ton of those kids like like I said Oregon's basically four million people I think give or take and so you go to a place uh like Southern California and you try to recruit the right fits and find the right fits are now find the right fits I guess you could say uh and and so that has changed and and these guys all know each other whether it's seven on seven teams or uh certainly High School rosters or games against each other and and uh recruiting against each other and hey did you see this guy you know everybody knows each other in this in this deal um and it has been uh uh a great much more competitive rivalry than that was in the past Mark last question for you we've talked a lot about kind of the landscape and the bigger picture here for Oregon but let's zero in on this team right now I mean they went 10-3 last year under Dan Lanning they've got some really talented headlining players on this current roster how good can Oregon be kind of this year and then immediately in the Big Ten well yeah I think it starts in as a bonex not you know news flash quarterback matters and uh when he was when he was healthy they were really good and uh just recently watched all their their games from last season and uh their they have a great schedule you know if you look at it from their their perspective uh uh this next season that that all hinges on his health and and shorn up defensively I know that that was where they were trying to to get most of the problem solved uh from last season former Oregon head coach current Fox sports analyst Mark helfrich coach really appreciates your time thanks a lot for joining us today so that is Mark Halfords you take a look at the national championships at Oregon I mentioned the incredible dominance as Runners obviously there's a great tradition there with Nike and you talk about 32 of their 34 national championships have come either in track and field or cross country Washington is a great rowing program as I mentioned off the top but they've won a couple of football national championships and then a lot of these other national championships here have come in the 21st century softball volleyball Cross Country Golf so there's been some recent success in terms of the Olympic sports in Seattle let's get more reaction now from throughout the Big Ten on the addition of these two schools let's join Jerry dinardo and Howard Griffith with their thoughts thanks Dave and just when we thought expansion was done in the conference with USC and UCLA news comes down the regain Washington and Oregon your initial thoughts well it's a tough League now it got tough the one we added UCLA and USC and now it got even tougher so if you look at the competitive balance if you look at the recent histories of all the the Big Ten schools for some people this is going to make it even harder to win in other words Howard if you rank 1 through 16 if you had USC and UCLA and you have let's say what people would consider the fifth best job in the Big Ten right now you may have the sixth best job or the seventh best job so these schools UCLA USC Washington and Ireland they slot into the 14. for a lot of teams in the conference that's making it more competitive so that would that's my first thought the second thought is especially with going with 12 team playoff most likely we'll go to 10 Conference games because you can lose two games and still make the playoff you add Oregon and Washington you might be able to lose three games four games and still make the playoff and the last thing I I thought of when I heard this is we've been talking about the travel with USC and UCLA right this is the this is the biggest problem with bringing on UCLA and USC now we bring up two more West Coast teams it might be time to revisit East and West to cut to travel down for the student athletes and that certainly wouldn't be popular with most of the present East coaches I think what the other thing that's interesting and you talk about the just the competitive balance uh you just start to think about how athletic departments will now have conversations with their coaches right what are expectations going to be like what should they be like because in this constant change I think expectations also need to be addressed when we talk about hiring coaches and bringing coaches into your program yeah I think certain expectations if if I'm at a school in the Big Ten that is perceived to have just been knocked down a peg then the ad has to have a conversation with that coach saying it's tougher if you're at the top of the league expectations haven't changed right so again you look at 1 through 14 take UCLA take USC and slide them in there if you're a football junkie and you're ranking the best jobs and now take those 16 schools and try to insert Oregon and Washington I think that's how most fans are going to look at it I guarantee you that's how most coaches are going to look at it where was I that I just move down and if I didn't move down I'm okay with it I wonder how it also would affect recruiting right you're starting to open up a new area new regions to recruiting obviously we know what's happened in Southern California but now you're talking about this specific Northwest so it's going to be a fun time and I think you talk about two programs that are really rolling at a high level right now coming into the conference it's going to be interesting to watch how that plays out as well I'd say if you went East and West uh it would it would impact recruiting more if you divided it up if you if you kept it nationally I'm not so sure it would but uh you know Uncharted Territory we're going to see what yeah I think you mentioned travel I think he gives you know your West Coast teams have now have some travel Partners but you still have to think about going east right that's one of the things that jumps out yeah and you might be able to do that without like dividing it back to east and west but making these to the West again when these two teams come on really and this isn't just about football it's about all the other sports it's about the sports that are played twice a week you know I mean you look at the travel that those student athletes are going to make you know play Rutgers if you're if you're Oregon while you're there why don't you play Maryland maybe Penn State and you know come on back to campus next week well I think it's going to be it's going to be uh really fun to watch just how it continues to play out obviously scheduling is going to be a big part of it they just did an entire 24-25 release now that'll be redone so this is interesting times but this is what college football has come to No Doubt joined Now by Nicole Auerbach who has been following this story quite closely Nicole I want to ask you first take us through today because to me this is I mean someday the oral history of this day is going to come out and I think it's just going to be utterly fascinating to find out what all the machinations were that led us to this point in in the best way that you can take us through let's say the last 24 hours starting with about this time yesterday this this last day has been about a year of my life I will say it has just been absolutely crazy I was talking to someone earlier and I said I don't remember the last time that there were just so many Forks in the road and it felt like everything was 50 50 and the different choices and different outcomes were all really on the table and obviously there were efforts within the Pac-12 and around the Pac-12 to try to keep that league and its most valuable schools together and then there were also other opportunities for other schools and we've known that Oregon and Washington were interested in come coming to the Big Ten they were willing to not come in at a full share to get here and I think that a lot of things changed really Tuesday night I think that's where you have to start going back because that's when the Pac-12 was presented with their media rights deal and all of the schools that have options started looking around and really reaching out and seeing what's possible so as you had the efforts in the Pacific Northwest that ultimately culminated in this today you also had those four corner schools and the Big 12 and so all of that was happening last night we were tracking I was staying up for the Arizona Regents meeting and then you also had the Washington Regents meeting that were happening last night trying to get a sense of it but you know earlier this morning it felt like the Pac-12 was going to stay together and then it felt like it wasn't and so again what happened there because there were a lot there was a lot of momentum early in the day of people saying hey I think the pectoral is going to be able to Cobble this together yes what what was the notion that had changed because I I mean it seems like essentially The Identical streaming deal which had been presented to these schools earlier in the week was presented again and they were asked to vote on this grant of rights this morning so why was there this thought that they may be able to hold it together like what was the thought that was different I again would also of people to say a lot more about this the decision makers that were directly involved as well but I think there is a combination of of really changing your mind and thinking about what is actually best for your school and the future moving forward influences from the schools you might be leaving with or staying with and then also figuring out with Media Partners what this would financially actually look like and I think you know there have been reports about what Washington and Oregon are going to get how that will escalate and then obviously when there is a new media deal becoming a full member and I think some of that comes into is the the travel concerns and the costs right so I was going to ask you about the financial component of it and we're fooling ourselves and we don't say that that is the preeminent Factor yes in all of this right so there has been a lot of different reporting we've been on the air frankly while a lot of this has been unfolding so what do you know I mean kind of the Bruce was on earlier and said something along the lines of a like a half share yes and then becoming a full share is that is that kind of so yeah I think um you know I'm trying to get a little bit more clarity myself exactly on how that changes but you're essentially looking at money that is significantly more than what they would have gotten as a member of the Pac-12 and also more than what they would have gotten as a member of the Big 12 and that number that we've all heard so much about and if it escalates if it changes and then again in six years when there's a new media deal there'll be a full member but I think you're talking about numbers in the 30s and that is again a very significant difference than what the Pac-12 was looking at with that heavily streaming deal as well and you're looking at the Financial Security of your athletic department you want to be able to compete at the highest level in as many sports as possible and that's a big difference right and again this isn't a six-year play for these schools right I mean this is a 16 26-37 right I mean presumably you're in it for as long a haul as you can possibly imagine and so you don't think about it in terms of the immediate implication and maybe not being a a full partner right off you think about what it means in terms of not having to worry about any of this in the future exactly and when we think about and I know coach Meyer just referenced like two power conferences and we think about you know just the ability for the Big Ten to chart its own course moving forward with the SEC right and just knowing that you have Financial Security and that you are going to be able no matter what happens in college sports and there's so much uncertainty but you will be able to fund the sports that matter the most and that you will be able to offer the most amount of sports possible in everything and so that's really important for a lot of these schools and I think that's why you know you had a lot of schools that would just crawl to get to the Big Ten and have that security later I remember Greg Schiano said this at media days last year someone asked about USC and UCLA coming in as full share members and you know wasn't that so hard for Rutgers to take so long and not be able to start like that and he said wouldn't you rather be where we are now you know it and so it is a long-term play and it is about getting that security getting in the door and having those opportunities down the line when it's a full share and we're talking 70 80 million dollars have a number of things I still want to get to with you Urban was talking and I thought really eloquently and making a point that a lot of people have thought about here in the last year and that is the Olympic sports and the travel concerns you wrote a great piece on the athletic uh times maybe in the last week it was less than a week ago it feels like it was 10 years ago yeah because I have no idea but it was really good and it was really Illuminating and it was talking about how USC and UCLA were approaching this and what the scheduling model was going to be clearly this alleviates at least a little bit of that right because while as I mentioned earlier with Jake Eugene and Seattle are not around the corner from Los Angeles these are already trips that they were making and I think that it also makes it easier if you're coming from the Midwest or from the East to come out and play UCLA and USC you would also have the possibility of playing Oregon in Washington as well but what do you know about kind of where they are on schedule models and how this might impact it yeah I think football is one right and and anyone will tell you that because football you don't have as many games and a lot of these teams are traveling around the country for non-conference it's not as big of a deal but when you're talking about soccer and field hockey even basketball is a lot of games and so you have to be really strategic about this and everyone is thinking about how you do this from a scheduling standpoint do you pair teams or travel so that maybe you're playing Illinois and then Northwestern and then you're flying out of O'Hare if you're flying commercial on that trip so I think you're going to see a lot more of that and and kind of really being strategic to try to limit the lengths of the trips or the amount of the trips that they're going to have to take and I think you're gonna have to see that as well but you could have these four members of the Pac-12 obviously there's history between playing each other and just a familiarity and how that travel Works maybe they play each other twice in a round robin and you play in those Sports where it's not an even schedule maybe you lean into that and you play those opponents more frequently than you play the opponent's audience I think there's ways to play with this where it helps a little bit but it is still going to be a daunting ask for everyone we've talked a lot about money being a huge part of this equation the biggest part of this equation of course the money flows from television and so it seems to me this gives you the ability now to open up another television window I mean whether that is a really late night window on the west coast whether it's during the week or is it Friday night or whatever it might be what do you know about the viability of that kind of within this current contract is that something that can be done can you yes open another window in this six-year time period of this contract I think that's the goal um and and I do expect that we'll get more clarity on that and I think that Friday night window is something to watch but also we do know that that late window is an opportunity that doesn't exist for teams on the East Coast or in the central time zone and when you're adding teams from out west they don't want to play in that window every single week but it does give you some opportunities to put some games there in the that you wouldn't otherwise have but I do think the Friday night window is worth watching and just seeing because you do have more inventory now so how are you going to make sure that people see it that is going to be one of the questions and you're adding you know a premier program in Oregon people are going to want to see Oregon play Ohio State or Michigan and things like that so how do you find those pockets as well to make sure that those games get the most amount of viewers as possible the games are really appetizing I mean again really really good programs and no doubt these are games people are going to want to watch there has been a lot of talk today and we've had several guests talk about it like as exciting a day as this is for the Big Ten as exciting a day as it is for Oregon and Washington I think it's tinged with a lot of sadness for a lot of people there's I mean for certain schools it's cataclysmic yeah right I mean it's a really brutal day if you are a fan of Oregon State Washington State Stanford Cal some of these programs that are kind of floating out there right now what can you tell us about the potential fate of these schools that are kind of hanging in the balance right now we we're still going to be waiting to see I think especially as we're waiting for those final steps to happen for the Big 12 at Arizona Arizona State and Utah but not all of the rest of the schools have options obviously the Mountain West is out there but that is a step down right we've been you know group of five power five we've had that delineation the interesting one for me is going to be what about Stanford and Cal these are programs that have been so successful in so many sports they send so many Olympians to the Olympics representing the United States and they have that academic Prestige and so I wonder if there's going to be opportunities for them in some sort of I I don't know even what to suggest is it is it a scheduling deal agreement Independence Mountain West there's there's maybe going to be some Avenues they're not ideal but I'm interested to see what happens there we know the ACC had been in conversations with the Pac-12 in recent weeks and over the course of of the last couple of years so I don't know if that becomes an Avenue of any possibilities with those types of schools because those are academic minded schools as well so I don't know where this goes and I think that's the really alarming part is that these are schools that are so proud and have so much tradition they give us such great rivalry games and this is a conference that's been around for more than a century it means a lot to a lot of people so I think that is the overwhelming feeling for today I think there's a lot of sadness among college football fans about watching a conference disintegrate in front of your eyes Mark helfrich was talking about this too I mean Oregon Washington have been in the Pac-12 or anteceded conferences since 1915. yeah 1915 right I mean we talk about the proud history of the Big Ten 1896. we're only talking about 20 years difference of course we're talking about a an area that was that was settled much later so I mean this is woven into the fabric of that part of the country and it really is tough to see I'm fascinated by the Stanford one in particular because by just about any measure it's the most successful broad-based Athletic program in the country I mean they win the director's Cup every year pretty much every year you're talking about a pre-eminent academic institution you were mentioning the ACC and the ACC of course has been hamstrung in all of this because the ground of Rights goes out through 2036 so just to make it clear to people what that means it means you could leave the ACC if you wanted to but they maintain your television right no one could see you you could join the SEC but no one can watch it yes so so it really like for all intents and purposes you're stuck there what does it mean now if there were those other four schools hanging out there like could the ACC be in a position where either it expands to include those schools would that allow it potentially to get out of that grant of rights or could they just form some sort of scheduling agreement like what does all this mean for the ACC it's such an interesting question honestly the ACC corner of realignment has been the most interesting to me over the last few weeks because of that grant of rights and you've had Florida State making a lot of noise about potentially trying to get out of it or challenge it but until somebody successfully challenges it I think you have to assume that all the schools are pretty locked in to where they are but Jim Phillips the commissioner of the ACC he's also from Big Ten country we know him from Northwestern he said last week that they were open to expansion and looking for other revenue streams so that does make me think well is there something you can do from a scheduling standpoint or potentially adding and is there a way to do that without allowing your biggest brands the opportunity to leave and I think that's the big question I think that they think if they think there's a way to do it without suddenly opening the gates and people can leave I think it's worth exploring right that's the flip side of it right so if you do somehow I mean it seems like who whatever whoever the lawyers were who worked on the acc's ground rights like a tip of the a cat because Maryland can take some credit for that too I mean it seems like it's it's airtight but you're right then like if you do figure out some sort of wiggle room to add does that just make sure you can't lose yeah that as well this is the statement for the Big Ten earlier today the Council of presidents and chancellors voted to admit the University of Oregon and the University of Washington to the conference effective August 2nd 2024 with competition to begin in all sports for the 2024-2025 Academic Year with the school submission Oregon and Washington will also join the Big Ten Academic Alliance a Consortium of world-class research institutions dedicated to advancing their academic missions let's hear from the president of the University of Oregon now John Carl scholz earlier today the Big Ten Conference invited us to become a member of the big team the Big Ten is not only a remarkably strong Athletic Conference it is the one of the Premier academic conferences in the country indeed I would say it is the finest academic Athletic Conference in the country by inviting the University of Oregon to be a member of the Big Ten we have opportunity to accelerate our extraordinary record of innovation and success on the playing field as well as to enhance significantly the academic reputation of the University we have a full house now in the studio Jake rejoining us and for the first time today we see Anthony Herron through the Lollapalooza traffic it took a bit it took a minute to come hang out with us uh we haven't been able to hear from you yet today Anthony first time we've seen you on our air give us a sense of the impressions for you of this day and what this has been it's a day that I think all of us in a variety of ways have been sort of discussing that the potential for this day for for weeks for for months maybe even a couple of years depending on you know what angle you come at it from and I've I venture to say that there may be no one in the industry who has between radio and television games Studios who've covered the two conferences the Big Ten and the Pac-12 is extensively as I have and I am so excited for folks who've been fans of the Big Ten for all these years who maybe haven't been to Husky Stadium who perhaps haven't been to Alton Stadium who haven't sailgated before to now have the opportunity to experience these two magnificent atmospheres I've called games at both of these stadiums over the years the fan bases are spectacular and the way that they do combine is we just heard a moment ago the academic and the athletic we've seen that the Big Ten and the Pac-12 have been sort of evenly yoked in that regard with the influence on each end of the campus is there in a few different ways in recent years here and so now you have four teams that will be in 2024 a part of the Big Ten that historically have been in the Pac-12 Conference and it feels like in a number of ways that this makes sense you did work as you said at the Pac-12 networks for many years I'm not sure everyone who's watching knows that right they know it now so yeah give us a little more insight like what's a game at otson like what's a game at Husky Stadium like with sale gaming the setting is unbelievable I've never actually been to a game I've been doing a game at Autzen never been to one at at Husky Stadium but I've seen the setting for it I've done basketball there it's it's incredible it is and it's it's a part of where when you think of the the domino effect that I know like Nicole's been talking about it in great detail and Jake was earlier of how things have played out in recent years here and there was a lot it was like this tectonic shift in recent years when Urban Meyer came to the Big Ten and really revamped enhanced the way that the Big Ten as a Conference resourced football and really frankly Athletics in general that eventually began to filter out to the West Coast to the Pac-12 in Oregon and Washington are two of the athletic departments that really made it a point to say we need to emphasize things we know what Phil Knight began to do he even shifted into another gear so to frankly try and keep up with you know I was at the Pac-12 network we know how things went there early on there were a lot of resources into the Pac-12 network there were resources into the Personnel into the campuses into the the programs the football teams that are part of each of these institutions and the atmosphere at Austin State and it's not the biggest stadium in the world but it is packed gay men and game out it when they have the opportunity to do so if there were Rafters at Austin Stadium they would hang from them on game day and I've been out there interacting with fans at tailgate times before the games and when you you have the duck that comes out before the game and riding out there on the motorcycle I'm telling you man it sends chills through your spine when you get to experience that and it is there's not every atmosphere in the Pac-12 that maybe Rivals what we're accustomed to in the Big Ten but Oregon and then at Husky Stadium as well with the Huskies with Washington those are two that have fan bases that are rapid enough that really do rival what we in some ways maybe even take for granted in the Big Ten so Nicole with all that being said how does this change the perception of the Big Ten now do you think nationally uh well I mean I think everyone thought that this was a league everyone wanted to be a part of to begin with and I think this is also a conference that you know is going to be extremely competitive um at the top and you're going to be looking at an era of a 12-team college football playoff with a lot of at large bids and you're going to have a lot of teams in this league that are going to be contending for that that was actually one of the reasons people weren't sure if Oregon wanted to leave the pack 12 maybe it was an easier path to get to the playoffs it is going to be challenging and you know it's great for us because we get to watch like Oregon play Ohio State and Washington play Michigan and these be League games but you already had an uphill battle getting into the top half of this conference and it's going to be harder and so I think you're going to really be talking about the depth the top and the middle of this league and again the influx uh the the money and the resources in this conference a lot of people will have very high expectations for themselves the strength of these programs on the field I think that's one of those things that can maybe be underappreciated Jake because in recent years you know we see where what organ was able to do on the field against Ohio State in recent years just last season we saw what Washington was able to do to Michigan State now they're going to have to travel to Spartan Stadium you know probably one of the more underrated atmospheres in the country but these are two programs and frankly the Pac-12 as a whole is really going to have a great season this year they had a lot of big time quarterbacks there Washington and Oregon bring two of those veterans to the table this year but these are two football programs that are ascending at a time as they enter the Big Ten those two matchups as I was thinking about it it kind of gave us a snapshot remember Oregon Ohio State in Washington Michigan State just just think about the buzz of those match-ups the week leading up to it and bringing these two Brands what that means going forward Nicole you bring up a good point the timing of this of the expanded playoff what that means from a scheduling standpoint in a 14 playoff one loss is your floor two losses you're really out 12 teams there's so much more flexibility to put good on good and anytime there's implications that adds to the buzz that adds to the excitement uh everything surrounding these games so the timing of these of these additions has me excited as well and of course there was so much time spent on working through the football schedule that was unveiled here who everyone's Rivals were I think these were all true rivalries you had some Schools Iowa one in particular that had three what's the next day to race and Beyond Flex protect plus is it protected what do they do next Okay so Nicole I guess I defer to you initially have you heard anything here like Mike Jerry was suggesting maybe you go back to divisions now would that make sense both in terms of travel and just in terms of the the sheer size of it I mean you know so many tiebreakers I would think in in trying to figure out you know who ultimately ends up as the the top two teams maybe you do go to that what what's your sense of what people are thinking yeah I mean I think you could do that and you can make a case for that but I also think it then becomes a little bit more challenging with who draws the short end of the stick to have to travel out west and be part of that division or pod or whatever you're you're describing it because 18 doesn't exactly work for two divisions maybe three but you'd still have to look at like a Nebraska or Minnesota or somebody else have to do that travel so maybe you look at a variation of the flex protect plus plus and you try to keep the competitive balance and the rivalries and then you just take the two best teams at the end of the year I mean I think there's different options I don't think you have to go to divisions and I've heard mixed opinions on what people want to do but I think you could actually take the principles that already existed that we just spent a lot of time learning about and apply them to adding Oregon and Washington and when we've heard Tony petiti Carrie Kenny AJ Eads kind of describing everything that went into making this current version of the schedule they all talked about how it'll continue to be versatile and malleable as we kind of get through the the next few seasons here and hoping to keep some sort of a round robin aspect to it I think it's a great goal it of course becomes more and more difficult the more teams you add when Jake and I each have played in the Big Ten there was an opportunity more so for me 20 plus years ago where I was able to hit every single campus in the conference that will increasingly become more and more difficult throughout a four or five year career well that was going to happen right Flex protect plus right you're going to play at every school in the Big Ten at least once in four years you were protecting the rivalries I think to your guys points I mean we haven't been able to sit down and put a pen to paper yet and try to figure out exactly how it would work but I think there's certain principles that have to be in play and and I think the Big Ten had them exactly right with this schedule they came out here within the last month or so and the notion is you should play those teams that are clearly your Rivals every year and then you should make sure that you get the opportunity to play everyone else in the league and to travel to those venues whether or not that's possible with 18 teams you'd have to go through all the permutations of it but the notion of that I think was a really strong one and one that my sense is they would look to continue yeah I agree with that and I think you know Jake made a good point earlier about having a little more wiggle room with with the 12-team playoff one of the things that Tony patidi had been talking about about that scheduling model was scheduling to make sure that you had multiple teams that would have the type of resume that would get them into the playoff or at least considered for the playoff you could still do that with an expanded Big Ten because the idea was that you're you're not over burdening anyone but you are having your best teams play some of the best teams so that their strength of schedule opportunities for Marquee wins all of that is part of it I think you could still take that principle even when you're adding these Brands and the schedule is going to look even harder it does let me exhale a little bit sort of to that point where now there are four Pacific time zone teams and that was certainly one of the concerns that a lot of us have talked about for a while but now not only the LA schools Jake but now you add Oregon and Washington and the ability now to have four preeminent football Brands you know UCLA it's underappreciated I think UCLA I've said this a number of times on various platforms on the line of scrimmage UCLA is probably even more prepared for Big Ten football right now but having four different programs in the Pacific time zone however things end up getting divided up from a scheduling perspective you'll at least say that we're able to to have a diminished travel burden versus what some of us have maybe been talking about over the past year so this for me who did have concerns about that I do exhale a bit now knowing that there's a couple of other Pacific time zone teams and it's not just anyone these aren't also ran programs these are great teams being added in that same time zone we have insurance in that sense and I think as far as the schedule as you look at the schedule going forward we know one thing that the future is uncertain so the more you can build in where it's appropriate flexibility into the scheduling I just think that that'll benefit you long long term we have some time I I trust Tony Petitti and the conference is in a great position right now you almost can't lose so just do the right things and build in flexibility and man I at the end of the day we're going to see some excellent matchups right and I mean I guess one of the byproducts of today is there's one more at large bid in the college football playoffs right presumably well we'll have to see yeah we'll see how that gets adjusted it plays out or maybe not I mean maybe you just say well it's gonna still be there still yeah it's still going to be the top six highest rated Conference champions and you just had everyone move up a little bit on on the pecking order however they decide to to play it out it does seem like there are look I think even before this happened the expectation was the Big Ten would get two or three teams in in a normal year now you look at the number of teams that conceivably could compete for this and it really makes your head spin of how deep and good this league could be when I saw James Franklin in Indy he said let's not push for six let's push for eight teams Ten teams from the Big Ten to make the college football playoff once expansion 12 so I don't know now an 18 Team league maybe get 12 14. 16 teams in the playoffs why not well perhaps James got a little bit carried away there but you do that I don't want to Penn State from the perspective of all these teams in the East I mean irrespective of what we're doing here with the expansion to the West Coast the notion of the expanded playoff and the notion frankly of going away from the divisions help them and measurably I mean it gives them an opportunity to to get themselves in Olympic sports wise I mean you've talked a little bit about this Anthony your wife played an Olympic sport at the University of Iowa what's your take on on what this means in that world this at least allows more of an opportunity now for sort of that potted sort of scheduling format like Nicole was addressing here because you know football it was going to be easy enough in football to set up some version of that with one game a week the inventory on the whole is very manageable in that regard but the sports that play a broader volume of games that aren't accustomed to traveling you know in a way that has a lot of Chartered flights it's one thing that that uh Mark Jarman was talking about the UCLA athletic director and saying that he was going to make sure that all the UCLA Sports would have at least the potential for Charter the access to charters for at least some of their sports teams and you know we'll see what Oregon and Washington are going to do in that regard as well but the additional time zone it's one thing for the mileage that can be a part of this conversation but traveling multiple time zones for athletes that to me is an even bigger deal than the mileage and so now having multiple Pacific time zone teams who are going to be in the mix as well it lightens that mode it lessens that burden on Olympic sports that are playing more games in a weekend let alone in a full season yeah and talking to people at USC and UCLA there's been so much focus and you talked about this in your article as well so much focus on the body clock so much focus on nutrition and sleep obviously the fact that people are taking classes online now I think that changes that part of the equation dramatically it doesn't seem at quite as burdensome because this is just kind of the way that this generation is used to learning you don't necessarily think about sitting in the classroom for every class it's fair it's a fair point to make but my my junior year in 2015 we went out to Utah week one and we went across multiple time zones and an elevation and we that was a night game so by the time that game wrapped up it was 1 30 in the morning back home you're in college this is what you love to do there's a heavy adrenaline aspect of it I wasn't yawning or sleeping or anything and you get back the next day and you do what you need to do and there's a little ramp up period but this is just part of being a high-level athlete right and it's part of it it's even fun too it's a challenge to go across and play in these new environments so that you got to address it there is some time time zone issues but I don't think it ever made a huge impact at least in my experience when I was playing and that being said you're going to have to be cognizant of it if you're putting together that schedule and and I think the fact that they're already thinking about it and the fact that you now have two more schools in that time zone I I do think it helps you significantly yeah and you know when I was reporting out that story one of the things that I thought was really interesting was that you know Martin Jarman you mentioned him was calling around to NFL teams that do this that play across time zones Seattle they have the most travel in the NFL so obviously that's going to be a sounding board you would think for for Washington but it is about trying to minimize the total number of trips and then figure out what you do when the length of the trip is longer and so you know for that you know are you adding more academic advisors that are coming with you are you staying on a West Coast sleep schedule how are you handling nutrition to make sure you're fueled these are all the big questions and they go into that athlete experience because you are going to be asking a lot of those athletes to be making longer trips just to play conference games especially in in basketball in softball in sports that just play dozens and dozens of games throughout a year that can eventually wear on your body clock in that way and I think that from a football perspective even as we see you know what other leagues end up doing what happens with the ACC if the SEC feels like they need to respond to this move by the Big Ten and they're still the potential for how that impacts the college football playoff may eventually as we get to you know a year from today who knows the landscape could continue to look a little bit different and then if that's the case the college football playoff and those conversations will end up you know evolving and we'll have to all follow Nicole on Twitter and make sure that we're just refreshing our timelines waiting for her to tell us what's happening now let me sleep no no you are not obviously finally got some official announcements here we're worried about the student athlete's sleep the sleepers should really be worried about this could pull our back to sleep let's just be honest sarcastic but I will approve it I'm a staunch believer that you need to get some rest again the story of the day the Big Ten is now the even bigger 10 Oregon and Washington joining the league it will be at 18 teams starting not this coming season but the season after 2024 the largest Football Conference in the history of college sports and the largest Athletic Conference overall in the current landscape at 18. so great to have you with us as we continue here on Big Ten live Dave reps and Nicole are back Anthony Herron and Jake butt really a huge day and if you're just joining us and kind of aren't totally up on on how this happened Nicole has been following it very closely so just kind of take us through the time frame last 24 hours how we got from uncertainty to this moment I'm going to start you back a little bit further even because really a lot of what changed here is is Colorado deciding to leave the Pac-12 a week ago and that started to create some instability within the Pac-12 which had not yet signed their next meteorites deal they had a meeting on Tuesday where they were presenting the framework to the deal of the deal to everyone else which I guess we could call the pac-9 at that time after that everything else pretty much ramped up and the schools that had options to go elsewhere started to pursue those options so we've all been aware of the other Corner schools the four corner schools so Arizona Arizona State and Utah appear headed to the Big 12 that could be final by the end of tonight and meanwhile Oregon and Washington have been interested in the Big Ten for a long time and we know that they have been trying they have been vetted they have been looked at they have been explored by the Big Ten but the Big Ten did not add them before and now I think what you're looking at is the possible disillusion of the Pac-12 and what does that change and I think for the big 10 you're looking at these two valuable Brands they are AAU Schools they're academic the profile everything works for the Big Ten except for the distance right so you're trying to figure out is it worth it to add does it help at all with the other sports in the travel USC UCLA does it give them a place to go with the Pac-12 is no longer and so I think you saw a lot of those conversations escalate as well as the opportunity for the to get Oregon and Washington and not have to pay them a full share right away we've seen this with Maryland and Rutgers and other schools in the past in the big tens history but what that does is allows you to figure out all of these things find Media Partners find the money to make it viable but then figure out what this is all going to look like in an 18-member League at full shares the next time you do a deal in six years it feels like it's making the best of a rather chaotic you know situation that we've all been following so closely all around Intercollegiate Athletics and and to be able to add the brands of the Oregon ducks in the Washington Huskies and to be clear Oregon and Washington were you comparing the situation that Pac-12 has been in with the big 12 you know the two confidents who seem to have been teetering more than others here in recent months Oregon and Washington get more eyeballs than any of the remaining teams in the Big 12 with the big 12 losing Texas and Oklahoma there are no brands in the Big 12 that remained that rival Oregon and Washington it didn't seem like the Big Ten from any discussions I've had it didn't feel like the Big Ten wanted to continue to sort of destabilize things around the country this is a conference that really values tradition while at the same time having the opportunity to boost up these Brands and the value that they can add to the Big Ten and what the Big Ten can do in support of Oregon and Washington and by comparison to any other programs that remained here these are really the two most prominent that are remaining or that were remaining before the Big Ten ended up making this move you brought up some good points because I think it was really beautifully executed considering how chaotic it's been because when that when this first started even last year with USC and UCLA that there was hey is there going to be further expansion and it was continually brought up that if that is the case they can't take away from the others so how do you how do you work out that equation and it's a situation where Oregon and Washington win and the Big Ten wins and then you mentioned the TV markets big big audiences out there I know we just signed a new TV deal there will be a new negotiation in the future so those markets alone as well as the matchups just means the potential for exponential growth and I think what's also important is you think about how it works for both sides is that Oregon Washington will be making more money by being partial shares in the Big Ten than they would have with the Pac-12 or what they would have with the big 12 and so that's why this move makes a lot of sense even if you can't get a full share it gets you in the door and that is something that Oregon and Washington have really wanted but the instability across the landscape not wanting to to be part of the reason that the Pac-12 you know meets its demise these are reasons that people have really been wrestling with this this week it's been a really challenging 24 hours where there were different points where I thought the Pac-12 might survive and that I thought this might happen and then maybe this wasn't going to happen it really was something that went back and forth and it it felt very much like you know you're picking which road you're going to go down and I didn't know which road people were going to go down I mean it's so fascinating if you take it back even further and you think about when Jim Delaney tried to set up a scheduling agreement with the Pac-12 more than a decade ago and that was kind of his notion of expanding without expanding that you were expanding the footprint of the Big Ten into the western United States that the the notion of it for those who have forgotten was that you would pair off every year and and you would play one game in the non-conference against one of the schools from the other league and commissioner Delaney was bullish on this and the Pac-12 ended up standing in the way of it because they were playing non-conference games at that time the Big Ten was only playing eight and the feeling was it was too much for them particularly schools that also had a high profile non-conference opponent USC and Stanford every year would play Notre Dame and then you were going to play a Big Ten school and it just felt like it was too much ultimately you wonder whether the seeds of the pac-12s demise actually began with them backing out of that agreement there is a lot of different points that I think if you're doing a timeline of key moments that is certainly one I think you know obviously the the efforts around their media deals the last time the Pac-12 network visibility problems and distribution problems that led to this point and then just again allowing the Big 12 to be an aggressor we talked about this earlier but you know for two years ago a lot of people left the Big 12 for dead and then they were able over the last year to say we are stable we are a better option for schools in the Pac-12 those four corner schools and they were able to get Colorado and when that happened that changed things so it's been a week it feels like a year but that's because the Big 12 did create stability did add did stick together and then that changed the landscape and the big Ten's been in a good position where we know they didn't have to add if they didn't want to so they were able to be picky but because of the way other people did not have that luxury we got to this point there's a lot of great athletic departments that have been in the Pac-12 historically but the situation the Big Ten finds itself in right now having USC and UCLA on the way in yes the LA Market a huge part of what's exciting about that as well but just from a football perspective the histories the heismans and everything else that comes with the Trojans and the Bruins and now you end up bolstering that with more teams in the Pacific time zone more out on the west coast with Oregon with Washington Oregon here over the last few decades because maybe been as consistent as any athletic department that's been out on the west coast and Washington has been very underrated I would say in a way where folks don't recognize it yes they played in a college football playoffs they've had teams that have been of national championship caliber at various times of recent vintage here and just the atmosphere you know a lot of folks don't recognize the pageantry that you can access in the west coast in the Pacific time zone out in what has been historically thought of as the Pac-12 I was telling you guys a little while ago man there's not a stadium that's currently in the Pac-12 that I haven't called multiple games in and I don't know that there's anyone other than these four that I would say I would put at the top of the list for the history for the fanaticism that's there when their teams are rolling I mean it's going to be fun I cannot wait until you are calling games and Husky Stadium I cannot wait until Dave and Nicole are out there finding reasons I was talking to my wife a little bit earlier she never made it out to Seattle when I was sailgating she's excited to come sailgating with me finally because we missed that window for my time calling Pac-12 football man this is it there's a lot that goes into it and I understand I have friends who've been texting me there are some Melancholy notes that are to this no doubt but in the end college football will be here college football will Thrive and now the Big Ten gets to add these additional Brands and it's going to be a lot of fun you said this Dave and and it's not we didn't just wake up last week and be like oh whoa we're here like this was set in motion a long time ago and it's we've just been working our way work and then here we are the situation is it's just the situation it's where we were at it's where Oregon was at is where the pact Washington the Pac-12 and then Big Ten found themselves in a situation as well for every reason we just said where the partnership of these two schools in in the building now for those athletic athletic departments to sleep easy at night you are in a stable ship going forward in this conference and even strengthens an already strong conference in the Big Ten Conference I think it shows the story right Dave just where the Big Ten hasn't had to be necessarily the aggressor in these scenarios but the strength of this conference shows in the fact that the Big Ten has been able to respond because the Big Ten is such a desired brand so many other athletic departments so many other programs want to be a part of the Big Ten understandably so we all benefit from being a part of the Big Ten but there hasn't had to be sort of this aggressive posture or an urgency until it's been necessary there's been able to be a responsive posture from the Big Ten because there hasn't necessarily been I don't believe a desire to continue to shift or destabilize or have other conferences go away but when this opportunity was here it seems like the Big Ten has now had four of these institutions that they've added here in recent years that will join in 2024 that seem to me to be the four best options that were on the table yeah absolutely and for Institution that sought them out right I mean that's that was the story a year ago with UCLA and USC now I do think it's important to note that kind of all of that was set into motion by the SEC adding Oklahoma and Texas it feels like in this kind of massive shake up here in the last year that was the first Domino to fall and then UCLA and USC were beginning to sense the instability of the Pac-12 and made the the move to to the Big Ten sent out the feelers that ultimately ended with them Landing in the conference I mentioned the SEC and and I'm fascinated to see so you know they obviously are adding Texas and Oklahoma starting next year what then for the SEC like so that would then be a 16-team league do you believe they're done there or do you believe then that goes back to our prior discussion about the ACC I think the SEC has been much more shutting these this talk down over the last year Greg Sankey has been pretty consistent about saying like we want to be a 16 Team league they were able to to move up they were able to get Oklahoma and Texas a year early so all of these moves are all going to align next summer and even this week Greg senke has said the same I mean that they are good at 16 they're happy where they are and I think the door was always a little bit more open in the Big Ten because we know what happened last summer we know there's been people exploring or interested in continuing out west the SEC has also been very tied to the region they have not been interested in the schools out west and the travel and the logistics and everything that the Big Ten is doing and they take pride in the fact that all their states touch so that does limit you right if the ACC schools are in their grant of rights no one's challenged it no one's successfully challenged it then you are there's not a lot of schools that are available so I think that does lend itself to the idea that maybe the SEC does go to 16 and sees how that is and that we wait for whatever Fallout there might be in the ACC but I don't think that they were interested in going out west and that ground of rights that you're referencing the ACC that's where everyone's sort of waiting and seeing how that will play out legally how that will play out even if you have those seven teams that have been sort of you know maneuvering and making maybe the biggest threats to go then how that ends up impacting things and I think for for the SEC they do have at least in football that recruiting Advantage for their footprint their fan base while rabid is far more Regional than this National fan base that the Big Ten is known for there's a reason that the Big Ten is the most lucrative conference while not being you know in football the one that wins the majority of the national championships so there's an interesting balance to the decision-making that'll go I think for the SEC but you know on the field of play in football the Big Ten now to me is strengthened even more because you know how important recruiting is and so that National footprint that landscape that the Big Ten can now access and the revenue certainly doesn't hurt but now you've got that Big Ten brand that feels even more National than other already wasn't adding the LA schools I think it's a an important question though Dave to ask because it provides a distinction in some perspective it's it can get lost here and misinterpreted that like this expansion is something that's aggressively happened and you used the passivity from the Big Ten from acting in a point of Leverage and and Nicole you just touched on with the SEC it's it's slow it's not like there there's frantic moves being made like further expansion is being discussed you know in order for that to happen there has to be things that really aren't you mentioned the Bill of Rights with the ACC that that's going to be a roadblock from a lot of those teams and then from the Big Ten in the SEC standpoint if you add again it has to be an addition you can't just add for the sake of adding the both conferences are in good places what about Notre Dame uh you know Notre Dame is still sitting out here in football Independence which of course it Prides itself on that has been historically where Notre Dame has wanted to be there have certainly been overtures through the years they kind of Maine I think the one that hangs out there that any league would fall all over itself to get very romantic overturns there's been a lot of those plenty of overtures um does any of this impact them Nicole or does this just all come down to from Notre Dame the amount of money they're able to get from NBC there's a there's like I do want to be independent it is incredibly important to them as a school uh Beyond Athletics that they are independent I do think anyone would make room and and figure it out if they were suddenly interested but it is making sure that you have enough money coming in to fund the sports that are the biggest deals and that you're able to compete at the highest level so I don't think you need to match the dollar figures of your peers in the Big Ten in the SEC but you need to be in the ballpark so that you can compete with them because you're always going to be priority prioritizing stuff a little bit differently and you're going to take essentially like a tax to stay independent but that's worth it to you you also need to be able to access the playoff and we know that with the model that has been proposed and approved they will do that there's six at large spots every single year you do not need to be a conference Champion so they've got that checked the third piece to me is the one to watch as conferences get bigger and bigger and that is the schedule if Notre Dame can't play the teams that they want to then you maybe feel squeezed and you feel like you need to join a league and by the way a lot of the teams that they like to play every year in the Big Ten right just like the piece because if everyone with you and play you and you can have your National schedule and your Rivals then there's no pressing need for Notre Dame to join a conference the Irish have never had an issue getting money from their own individual TV deal and to your point Nicole everyone wants to play Notre Dame because folks have that Advantage folks benefit from facing the iris on the playing service because they come with TV eye balls they come with butts in the seats and so all that ends up mattering I do believe I'll be curious to watch how as more teams are Consolidated into a few different conferences as more influences Consolidated into right now the Big Ten in the SEC but right now there are still a couple of other autonomous conferences power conferences whatever term we end up using there does the discussion around perhaps trying to freeze Notre Dame out of the playoff does that become easier to have if there's not as many conferences of influence there and then you just have a few of the power Brokers who can say all right someone wants to get Notre Dame in their league and perhaps it can happen if you just have a few conferences of power and influence as opposed to so many others who Notre Dame can kind of cherry pick who they want to play because I don't know if you want to strong arm them though into convincing them to come to your league yeah maybe you do it that would be the only way it would happen if folks said we'll freeze them out of our schedule but up till now no one's wanted to do that because people love to play Notre Dame right and I think at a certain point kind of to your point it becomes less about freezing out and maybe just like there isn't room right I mean but but again I I mean I think everyone agrees people like playing Notre Dame right because of the visibility that that it brings you and just because they are one of the few truly National brands in really all of sport I think the question becomes you know if these conferences the Big Ten and the SEC get bigger do they want to play more conference games right right and that becomes part of the way that you squeeze out because it's not all these teams right like don't you want them to play each other more frequently I I think that that's a valid question on a long enough time scale I mean there's points where we can say like hey this is a possibility where you have two super conferences of the Big Ten in the SEC and then at that point they can almost dictate their own rules they can almost say hey it's our playoff in in a sense maybe without you know fully washing them out say Hey listen this is what we're doing would you like to join us you know are you welcome so we have a few minutes left before we're going to wrap things up I'm just kind of interested from each one of you and maybe Jake I can start with you your biggest takeaway from today the the biggest thing you'll remember about this day and and what kind of you think about all of this moving forward my biggest takeaway is that the only constant is change right you never relax too much especially in sports there's there's there's constantly change but I I think we're going to look back on this a couple years from now as a historic moment in college football certainly in our conference and for these two schools and with where they're at and even USC UCLA all of them have brand new coaches all of them are trending in an excellent National Contender Direction so we'll look back at this day as a strong point for the conference in a pivotal point for college football as a whole and one of the things I try to remind folks of a decent bid over the last couple of years as so much has changed around college football and Intercollegiate Athletics it's just the notion of all this dis-ease and all this change that's going on and and especially a lot of the reaction tends to go towards the the student athletes and the fact that they can switch schools and go to the transfer portal and that tends to get you know some negativity with it and name image and likeness and maximizing their personal brand the compensation that goes with that can get some negative reaction folks are getting more accustomed to it and I think a day like this as great as it is for the Big Ten Conference we certainly remember and I know it's been noted throughout the day it is about money it is about the revenue that's generated for these institutions for this conference and so I guess I would urge folks to remember that you know whenever you see some athlete having a name image and likeness deal and you say oh well maybe I'm not comfortable with that kid doing that remember that there are a lot of other folks who are creating Revenue who are maximizing their brands as leagues as universities and that's part of what makes me feel very comfortable with the players having the opportunity to do that as well yeah I think I think for me the main takeaway that I ask there's always going to be changed but this these are steps about the future of college sports these are people looking 10 20 years down the road and securing that future because that stratification of the top of college sports and the middle and the bottom it's only going to get greater and so I think this is going to be one of those days when you look at how do we get from point A to point B 30 years from now this is one of those days there's so many different things that can be said about today and I think you have done a great job along with our guests of articulating basically all of them I'll just say this the games are going to be great they're so good I mean they're going to be really good and we look forward to covering them here on the Big Ten Network

Channel: Big Ten Network

Views: 91,014

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Id: vFjX3NWG340

Length: 102min 58sec (6178 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 04 2023

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[u/Sky_King73]

1 hour and 40 minute special on the Big 10 Network. Did the Pac 12 Network run any special programming today?