Washington Huskies: Realignment leaves UW with 3 options – #2 Wait out Big Ten
Ed Stein
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Since USC and UCLA decided to leave the Pac-12 Conference last month, the Washington Huskies are at a crossroads. They could play the long game and wait for a Big Ten invitation.
After the departures of Southern Cal and UCLA, the Pac-12 is obviously weakened. A situation that hurts the Washington Huskies in several ways. Without the Southern California teams, their prestige, recruiting, and, most importantly, revenue all take a big hit.
Washington has come to a fork in the road. Ahead of them are three paths. One, they could stay in the conference they’ve been a part of for over a century (1917). Or maybe UW goes in another direction. Washington could wait for a Big Ten invite, or they could go to the Big 12.
In the first installment of this series, we covered UW staying in the Pac-12. Today it’s waiting out the Big Ten.
Big Ten
This strategy is totally out of the Huskies’ control. It involves Washington playing the long game. The Big Ten said they don’t have immediate plans to expand beyond USC and UCLA. That’s probably true in the short term. But there is an exception.
Luck of the Irish
As it’s been for decades, the Big Ten’s primary target is Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are smack in the middle of the Big Ten’s footprint, and the school probably has the largest fan base in America.
For their part, Notre Dame is in no rush to give up its (mostly) athletic independence. As an enticement to lure them, the Big Ten could invite Stanford to the family; the Cardinal is one of Notre Dame’s perennial football opponents. That’s probably a last resort and only if NDU insists, but certainly, Stanford is an option.
Even more expansion
At that point, the Big Ten has 18 teams. There is no limit to how large the conference can be. This is a new era of college athletics; 20, 24, or even 30 Big Ten schools could happen. And it certainly looks like things are headed in that direction, eventually.
If there is another round of expansion, Washington will be competing with Oregon. Because Oregon has Nike behind them (make no mistake, former Nike Chairman Phil Knight still wields significant power), the Ducks are at the top of that pecking order. UW is right there with them, and the argument could be made that Washington is a better option for the Big Ten.
Roadblocks
There are no guarantees. Although they are natural geographic rivals, Oregon and Washington are not a package deal. In this environment, it would be naive to expect a buddy plan. Additionally, If Notre Dame is a no-go, there is no urgency for the Big Ten to expand. It could be a decade before there is another round of NCAA Darwinism.
Check back with us for Part 3, the big merge.