CFB insider confirms Big Ten expansion rumors won't catch fire until Notre Dame makes a move; no interest in adding more Pac-12 teams - Reports
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are one of four FBS college football programs that remain independent. The Fighting Irish are reportedly being targeted by the Big Ten in a move that could prevent the conference from adding any additional schools.
The Big Ten has already added the UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans, who will both join the conference on July 1, 2024.
On Saturday, OutKick tweeted:
"The Big Ten reportedly has no interest in adding more PAC-12 teams after USC and UCLA join in 2024. Will Oregon and Washington be left out in the cold or will they make a run for the Big 12? Embrace the chaos!"
College football personality Greg Swaim confirmed the news, adding:
"This is absolutely true and until #NotreDame does something one way or another, the #B1G won't move and when they do it'll likely be #ACC teams."
Check out the tweet from OutKick and the response from Greg Swaim below:
The Big Ten reportedly has no interest in adding more PAC-12 teams after USC and UCLA join in 2024.
Will Oregon and Washington be left out in the cold or will they make a run for the Big 12?
Embrace the chaos! outkick.com/oregon-big-ten…
This is absolutely true and until #NotreDame does something one way or another, the #B1G won't move and when they do it'll likely be #ACC teams. twitter.com/Outkick/status…
Speaking at the 2023 Big Ten Media Days, commissioner Tony Petitti confirmed that the conference may not be looking to expand:
"All the direction I'm getting from leadership - our presidents and chancellors and our athletic directors - is to focus on USC and UCLA. We have a lot of work to do there.
"I'm proud of the scheduling format we created in football. I think it touches on all the right things. But we have significant work to do in scheduling for our other sports, especially our olympic sports, to come up with the best solutions.
"We have a good plan in motion. I think we'll learn from it. Like anything, there'll be tweaks and changes. But overall, that's really where we are. I'm not getting direction to do anything else other than that in terms of what the conference looks like right now."
Why hasn't Notre Dame joined a conference?
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish remain one of the most popular teams in college football. Notre Dame, however, remains independent, thanks to three factors, according to James Parks of College Football HQ:
"1) Its contract with NBC to show home football games; 2) the school's access to the College Football Playoff and bowl postseason; and 3) being otherwise able to avoid any unwanted financial consequences of not joining a conference."
The Fighting Irish boast the ability to secure financial deals from the NBC, while also receiving revenue from the ACC and the College Football Playoff even without qualifying. This has put them in a position to remain independent if they desire.
While Notre Dame could eventually join the Big Ten, the program remains in no rush to do so.