Oregon, Washington to Join Big Ten, Leave Pac-12
Oregon, Washington to Join Big Ten, Leave Pac-12
Check out Brett McMurphy's report on Oregon and Washington joining the Big Ten and leaving the Pac-12 in the latest realignment move.
This fucking sucks.
However, Wisconsin and Washington better be playing for a giant fucking W.
I'll be honest, I don't really get why the fans of leaving teams support this. Sure your school will have more money but how does that affect you as a fan? You're going to be competing for less conference championships, less playoffs, less Natties, almost guaranteed. All while travelling further and playing schools with less history and breaking your rivalries. I don't get the upside of these kind of moves for the fans.
Literally nothing but woe for almost every team that has switched from a P5 conference to another p5 conference. Mizzou, Nebraska, A&M, CU, Maryland, etc. All doing worse than expectations and seemingly broke 100 years of history for like, no reason (other than the boatloads of cash that is leading to absolutely no athletic success they couldn't achieve prior)
It's all kind of a prisoners' dilemma though. Maintaining historic rivalries and a good current setup requires that no one else leave either. Otherwise, your most "desirable" opponents take the money and leave you with a situation that's just as awkward, but you've also got way less money than them now. Over time the money is helpful for the facilities and coaching arms races, and that may become more pronounced as donors route more of their money directly to the players. Once the barn door is opened, the horses bolt.
Washington-Oregon-Minnesota-Wisconsin-Michigan, The Apple Division. Maybe a Johnny Appleseed trophy?