Oregon and Washington are finalizing a deal to join the Big Ten Conference, which would expand to 18 members in 2024, sources told ESPN.
The departures put Oregon and Washington’s former conference, the century-old Pac-12, in flux. Arizona has applied to and been admitted to the Big 12, ESPN sources said, although that deal has yet to be finalized. And conversations between the Big 12 and Utah and Arizona State ramped up Friday, sources said.
Just weighing in from a midwest born person, talking specifically about football (which I acknowledge is not a very inclusive mode to think about this)…
I find this to be very weird, though I’ll be excited to see my hometown team come to play here regularly. It’s sad to see the real regional football conferences go away. It would be a huge gut-punch to me if my Iowa team continued to play Minnesota, but stopped playing Wisconsin regularly, which is pretty much what is happening here with Oregon.
The culture, I’ve found, is very different. Eugene is saner, though admittedly a little less fun and more serious. Football isn’t life, and that’s probably a healthier way to approach the world. However, a lot of Big Ten schools are their cities and vice versa. They are quintessential college towns and the tailgating culture is city-wide, not just limited to campus or the adjoining neighborhoods (at least that’s how it felt to me growing up). I don’t know how this will translate here, but I’m guessing it’ll just be the same as it ever was, but with different teams coming to visit.
It sucks for long term Ducks fans/alums. It’ll be a curiousity for casual fans to see how it shakes out. People who don’t care about sports here, which I think make up a much higher percentage compared to their peer communities, will continue to live their lives and it all will go on.
Football is doomed anyways. No one wants their kids to play. I certainly don’t…anyways…go Ducks!!(?)