As Oklahoma and Texas progress toward a move out of the Big 12 and into the SEC, other realignment rumors have surfaced around the country. Many eyes have looked to the Big Ten as a major player in a possible reshuffle of the NCAA’s major conferences.
A Monday report from ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg revealed that the league is considering another expansion amidst the current turmoil in the Big 12. However, the Big Ten is reportedly only interested in adding schools that are members of the Association of Americcan Universities.
“Heard today from several people that B1G only would be interested in adding schools from the AAU (Nebraska no longer, but was when it joined league). Texas is AAU member, along with Pac-12 schools like Cal, Washington, Colorado, USC, UCLA, Oregon, Stanford. Oklahoma is not AAU,” Rittenberg reported. “Notre Dame obviously would be an exception.”
Some quickly dismissed the idea that the Big Ten would pursue schools on the West Coast, but Colin Cowherd doesn’t think that adding a high-profile university would be a negative for the conference. The FOX Sports host pointed specifically to USC as a valuable “asset” for the league to consider.
“USC to the Big Ten rumors (mentioned on my TheVolumeSports podcast today) are not that crazy. The richest conferences need to grab the greatest available assets. How it all sorts out — who knows. But aggressive wins, in 2021, and the BIG has lots of money,” Cowherd wrote on Twitter.
USC to the Big Ten rumors (mentioned on my @TheVolumeSports podcast today) are not that crazy. The richest conferences need to grab the greatest available assets. How it all sorts out — who knows. But aggressive wins, in 2021, and the BIG has lots of 💵.
— Colin Cowherd (@ColinCowherd) July 26, 2021
Although USC has struggled in recent years to remain an elite college football program, the California school remains one of the most recognized brands in the country. The Trojans carry ample weight in the Los Angeles area and would bring their TV audience to the Big Ten if they were to join.
The Big Ten would be wise to consider other schools out west if they were series about scooping up USC. Adding other programs like UCLA or Oregon would help balance the conference across the country and help with potential travel snags that could arise from picking just one representative to draw in the West Coast market.
If the Big Ten wanted to pursue USC or other schools from the current Pac 12, it could easily rebrand itself as a cross-country conference. The move certainly sounds intriguing, but requires a lot of forethought from the league’s leadership, so fans will have to wait and see if any additions are real possibilities.
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