Stanford president, athletic director release joint statement after Oregon and Washington leave Pac-12 for Big Ten

In light of two more high-profile Pac-12 departures, Stanford officials have spoken out. The Cardinal’s president and athletic director released a joint statement after Oregon and Washington announced their departures for the Big Ten on Friday.

President Marc Tessier-Lavigne and athletics director Bernard Muir said Stanford is looking at “available options” amid the current landscape. If the Big 12 gets the teams it wants, the Pac-12 could be down to four teams in 2024.

“We are aware of the University of Oregon and the University of Washington’s intended departure from the Pac-12 Conference,” the statement read. “Our primary focus at this time is analyzing the available options and making the best decisions for Stanford and our student-athletes. We remain optimistic about Stanford’s athletics future and remain committed to pursuing excellence in college athletics.”

Oregon and Washington are the two latest teams to leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten. Last year, USC and UCLA announced their intentions to leave for the Big Ten as well. In fact, conference officials started “exploratory discussions” earlier this week regarding expansion, Yahoo! Sports’ Dan Wetzel reported. Stanford and Cal have also come up as potential targets if the Big Ten wants to expand to as many as 20 teams.

This all started as the Pac-12’s media and grant of rights negotiations came to a standstill. Commissioner George Kliavkoff presented a deal with Apple earlier this week, but no action was taken in that meeting. Then, on Friday, the Pac-12 met to presumably sign a new grant of rights. But those talks fell through, leading to the ensuing movement as Oregon and Washington left.

Big Ten announces additions of Oregon, Washington

The Big Ten released a statement Friday welcoming Oregon and Washington while spelling out the timeline. They will become official members of the conference on Aug. 2, 2024 and also become members of the Big Ten Academic Alliance.

Multiple reports also said both schools will enter the conference at a reduced revenue share slated for about $30 million, with $1 million increases each year of the current deal. The release included a bevy of quotes from various stakeholders in the process from both Washington and Oregon and the Big Ten.

“We are excited to welcome the University of Oregon and the University of Washington to the Big Ten Conference,” Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti said in a statement. “We look forward to building long-lasting relationships with the universities, administrators and staff, student-athletes, coaches and fans,” Petitti said. “Both institutions feature a combination of academic and athletic excellence that will prove a great fit for our future.”

Both the Huskies and Ducks are slated to join the Big Ten in 2024 at the conclusion of the Pac-12’s current Grant of Rights. Neither school will get a full payout from the Big Ten league revenue, something that was potentially a sticking point in negotiations. On3’s Pete Nakos reported the two schools are expected to get payouts somewhere in the $30-40 million range.

On3’s Andrew Graham contributed to this report.