Published Aug 4, 2023
Pros, cons and what we know about Oregon's official move to the B1G
Aaron Heisen
Staff writer

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Oregon’s move to the Big Ten was made official on Friday.

It’s a decision that the school’s athletic director Rob Mullens and president John Karl Scholz had wrestled with leading up to the B1G extending an official offer earlier this morning.

“I think every institution, every university in the conference has been exploring and thinking about ‘What next? How do we position ourselves to be as strong as we can going forward?’” Scholz said. “USC, UCLA left the conference a year or more ago, and then Colorado's departure, so it was not the Pac-10, it was the Pac-9. These are challenging times.”

With these departures, it became abundantly clear to those at Oregon that conference realignment was not a thing of the future, rather a matter of the present. So it’s only natural the Ducks took action and chose where they fit into that changing landscape.

The fate of the former Pac-12 rested on the verdicts from schools like Oregon and Washington, who drove the competition of the conference and would be counted on even more to continue to doing so without the success of the Los Angeles schools boosting it.

Scholz made it clear that they did everything possible to stay in the Pac-?. However, it became difficult to decline the B1G’s offer with the consolidation of the Pac. There are clear pros and cons to this move.

RELATED: Join our discussion about Oregon's move to the Big Ten | All the key comments from Oregon's leaders about the Big Ten decision

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Pros

The theme of the news conference Friday was the academic and athletic positives that are set to come from Oregon’s move to the Big Ten.

With the Los Angeles schools moving out of the Pac-12, this move immediately boosts the level of play Oregon will face year in and year out as well as the spotlight they’ll receive from competing in those games. Rather than playing Ohio State in the regular season once in the last 40 years, games of that caliber will become commonplace.

The basis of Oregon’s move to the B1G came from the increased revenue from the media rights of games like that.

“We anticipate averaging over $50 million dollars from direct media rights,” Scholz said. “One of the things I'm really proud about about the University of Oregon is that tuition revenue does not end up supporting our remarkable athletic program.”

This uptick in income doesn’t coincide with tuition revenue. Scholz had concerns about this becoming a problem in the near future, but the move to the B1G nullifies any concerns or ramifications from the reportedly underwhelming deal the Pac-12 was pursuing to have the league's games streamed by Apple TV.

In addition, he seemed optimistic about the academic side of being a part of the Big Ten, as Oregon will now be a part of a pristine program known as the Big Ten Alliance.

It’s a well-dated curriculum that incorporates academic and research outlets and increases opportunities in these fields for students and faculty. It has been at the foreground of the conferenc'es membership since 1958.

Back to the increased revenue for a moment.

Mullens explained how the funds are part of a plan that will help to extend coaches' contracts — like the Ducks just did with head coach Dan Lanning — improve the facilities and aid the student-athletes.

“This is the next step of the bold vision,” Mullens said. “It sets us up for the future in this changing landscape. The coach’s contract was a big piece … the facility is a big piece, as is making sure that we're providing all of the support elements for our student-athlete in the modern game and making sure that we’re understanding NIL and that we are being progressive.

"We have one of the best facility infrastructures in all of college athletics to support the student athletes. So of course, that's an element. Autzen is a key piece for us. I mean, football generates 70% of the resources that support these 20 sports. And as you know, that North side does need some work, the South side's phenomenal. So, that has been on our radar for a long time and will continue to remain on our radar."

Mullens and Scholz were confident in the positives of this move. It’s clear that the decision is a major positive for the present-day well-being of the University of Oregon. It’s one based on revenue generation and favors the prowess of the football team.

That’s where some of the potential unknowns seep in ...

Cons

Travel, the investment in Olympic sports and the storied history.

Starting with the Olympic sports, this can be a positive as competition and exposure will increase. If schedules are executed properly Olympic sports athletes will benefit. One solution chronicled by The Athletic discussed efficient tandem travels where two teams from a similar area in the Midwest could travel to a similar area on the West Coast and kill two birds with one stone (or charter plane in this instance).

While these details are still being ironed out, what we do know is there will be increased travel. Sometimes that may come in the middle of the week. Not only will that be hard on athletes who are students missing out on classes, but it will burden students, media and equipment people who will be asked to make these trips as well.

In addition, gone are the days of West Coast rivalries. Mullens made it clear that Oregon will try to play Oregon State in each sport every year, but nothing has been made official and the meaning of those I-5 battles will certainly be diminished.

“We have a rich tradition with our in state competitors and that was something that we will try to work out in every sport to continue those rivalries,” Mullens said.

He also admitted that could be hard to maintain in football.

"Our goal would be to schedule Oregon State in every sport that's possible. Football scheduling can be complicated because of how far out it is. And, you know, the difficulty of playing non-conference games later in the year, but our goal would be absolutely to continue to play Oregon State," he said.

All-in-all, college sports are changing rapidly. That much had been apparent well before it came time for Oregon to make its decision. Now, the Ducks have chosen to hop on board in fear of being left behind.