Greg McElroy explains why Big 12 isn't courting Oregon, Washington for expansion

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark has been aggressive in pursuing expansion of the conference. The league already added four new teams ahead of this season, and there have been rumors that more are coming.

With the future of the Pac-12 in limbo, Colorado has been mentioned as a potential candidate to rejoin the Big 12, which it was previously a member of from 1996-2010. Other Pac-12 schools such as Arizona and Arizona State have also been brought up, but there has curiously been little buzz surrounding more prominent names like Oregon and Washington.

ESPN analyst Greg McElroy explained why in a recent episode of his Always College Football podcast, saying it could come down to a lack of interest from those programs.

“If the Big 12 had their choice or actually had the ball in their court, 100% they would go get Oregon and Washington,” he said. “If available, they would 100% go and say, ‘we would love for you to join the Big 12’ and I think that that overture has already been made. I don’t know that for sure. I don’t have people with deep, deep, deep connections to the innerworkings of realignment. I hear rumors just like y’all do. But at the same time if you’re Oregon and Washington, to realign, it takes two to tango.”

Part of the reason for the hesitance from the Ducks and Huskies, in McElroy’s opinion, is that they could still be waiting on word from the Big Ten. The conference is set to add USC and UCLA from the Pac-12 in 2024, and some have speculated it would make sense to bring on Oregon and Washington as well.

As of now, though, nothing is official. McElroy explained that the Big Ten could look at adding some ACC teams first before it comes calling out west again.

“While the Big 12 would 100% welcome — I believe with open arms — Oregon and Washington, why would Oregon and Washington do that right now knowing that they’ve already been vetted as a potential future member to the Big Ten?” the ESPN analyst said. “I’ve already said if the Big Ten expands, based on my knowledge and the rumors I listen to, I’ve talked for a while now about the likelihood of expansion out west for the Big Ten being a whole lot lower than the likelihood of them expanding down the Atlantic Coast. If they could potentially get into Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, that, I think, could be the first places that the Big Ten would explore. I don’t think they’re going to the Pacific Northwest, but it remains a possibility.”

And that possibility, however slim, is what’s stopping the Ducks and Huskies from considering a jump to the Big 12, at least for now.

“I think the Big 12 would gladly take Oregon and Washington, but right now Oregon and Washington aren’t willing to make that move,” McElroy said. “Whether it’s a 1% chance or one-in-a-million chance, whatever the circumstances are, there is a chance that Oregon and Washington could at some point be a member of the Big Ten.”