ROSEMONT, Ill. — After multiple meetings and reversals, the Big Ten has officially cleared the way for Oregon and Washington to apply for membership and join the conference, according to multiple sources.
The Ducks and Huskies will still need to apply for membership and the Big Ten presidents will need to approve the additions, but at this point those steps are considered a formality and the two programs are expected to become the 17th and 18th members of the Big Ten, and third and fourth on the West Coast behind USC and UCLA.
Pac-12 leaders met early Friday to determine if the nine remaining schools (which included Oregon and Washington) would accept a media deal with Apple, but without the Ducks and Huskies the conference is on the brink of extinction.
Seven Pac-12 schools remain, although Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah are targets for the Big 12 as well. Arizona is in serious talks with the conference, while the Arizona Board of Regents held a meeting Thursday to try to get the two schools on the same page.
The Pac-12 may soon be down to just four members: Oregon State, Washington State, Stanford, and Cal, and will have to merge with another conference and hope they can still put together a media package to help keep these programs afloat in the new era of college athletics.