Nebraska Football: Big Ten reportedly eyeing four more Pac 12 teams
The Nebraska football team might have even more Pac 12 teams to take on in the near future. That is if a recent report about the Big Ten eyeing further expansion and talking to at least four more teams in the same conference that brought them USC and UCLA is to believed.
According to Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports, Kevin Warren is looking to add to the B1G’s already massive media rights deal by striking another accord with a company like Amazon. Dodd believes that if the Big Ten commissioner is able to find that additional partner, it could mean the share that Nebraska football and the rest of the current teams gets is so attractive that four more Pac 12 conference teams could come calling. Dodd adds that would likely mean the end of that conference altogether.
"“An offer deemed substantial enough would likely convince Big Ten presidents that California, Oregon, Stanford and Washington would be valuable additions to the league from the Pac-12. That figure is believed to be less than $100 million annually.”"
If Nebraska football does indeed add those four to its list of conference rivals, it would also likely mean a bit of a chain reaction for the Pac 12. Dodd believes some combination of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah would join the Big 12. It appears the only two teams that no one has any real interest in at the moment is Oregon State and Washington State.
Related Story. Pac 12 makes one final push to block UCLA exit. light
No, the irony was not lost on me that the Big Ten could be making a move in the very near future that would send Colorado back to the Big 12.
Nebraska football’s conference in a state of flux
Talk of more teams moving from the Pac 12 to the Big Ten has been going on since USC and UCLA announced they were making the jump. Washington has been the one most often talked about.
Of course, there’s also been rather strident talk that the Bruins coming to the B1G is not a totally done deal. Mayhap Washington will eventually replace the Bruins if their regents block the move. One has to wonder if at that point, UCLA will have missed the boat, or just come later after Warren gets his second media rights payday.
None of this is totally a done deal of course. The tea leaves are becoming harder to read precisely because there is some question as to how much more expansion the conferences really feel is worth it in the long run.
It seems unlikely that Nebraska football will have an announcement of more conference mates before the end of the year. 2023 could be plenty active though.