The Big Ten is closing in on expanding and adding two more West coast programs.
Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and the conference are expected to send formal offer letters to Pac-12 members Oregon and Washington, according to Pete Thamel of ESPN.
A meeting among Big Ten presidents was held Friday, and it is unclear if it centered around a vote to issue offers to Oregon and Washington, according to Ralph Russo of The Associated Press.
Oregon and Washington are “fully engaged,” according to Thamel, and the offer letters will represent the latest step in conference realignment in recent years. UCLA and USC will join the Big Ten beginning in 2024 after announcing expansion plans in 2022.
The motion toward submitting offer letters comes during a week in which the Big Ten moved quickly in exploring its options for further expansion.
Petitti was authorized Thursday to explore expansion — less than one year into his tenure as Big Ten commissioner — and the conference engaged in “preliminary talks” about adding up to four Pac-12 programs which could also include Cal and Stanford.
