The Big Ten has officially added both the University of Oregon and the University of Washington - giving the conference 18 teams for the time being. The moves will go into effect on Aug. 2, 2024, in time for the 2024-2025 school year. On Friday, the Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors voted unanimously to admit the two schools

The departure of Oregon and Washington from the Pac-12, along with the departure of the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, and Utah to the Big 12, will deal a massive blow to the Pac-12, at least as college football fans have come to know it.

Last month, the Pac-12 also saw the University of Colorado leave for the Big 12. With the impending departure of these programs, the conference is down to just four members for the 2024-2025 school year. USC and UCLA, of course, are also set to join the Big Ten next July, now alongside Oregon and Washington.

Notably, Oregon and Washington will not receive the full revenue sharing that the other 16 institutions will receive. Instead, the two schools are expected to receive $30 million in year one, with a one million dollar increase each year through the end of media deal. While significantly less than the rest of the Big Ten Conference, it is a significant guaranteed increase over the Pac-12's reported potential media deal with Apple that would've paid roughly around $20-$25 million per year.

The "Flex Protect Plus" football schedule model, which the Big Ten had painstakingly put together in anticipation of a 16-team league in 2024, will need to be tweaked but not blown up. The league will not be starting from scratch here.

Many of the same principles will apply for the 18-team model, including the goals of protecting key games and rotating the others. The Big Ten has remained committed to nine-game league schedules, and both Oregon and Washington come from a league that plays nine. Still, the math gets a bit trickier with two more members. Divisions are not expected to be added in the 18-team model. The general philosophy behind the schedule model isn't expected to change much.

The initial 2024 and 2025 schedules included 11 protected matchups. A 12th is now virtually guaranteed with Washington and Oregon, bitter rivals who have played many memorable games. But the Big Ten "capped" the number at 11, Kenny said, because, "The more protected matchups you've included in the model, the less flexibility you had to create a really balanced model for everybody."

Oregon and Washington will be all-sports additions to the Big Ten next year, but football is the focus now because schedules are done in advance to allow for planning and logistics.

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