UW Board of Regents calls ‘special meeting’ as Big Ten realignment rumors swirl

SEATTLE – With rumors of a possible move to the Big Ten Conference swirling, the University of Washington’s Board of Regents scheduled a “special meeting” for 9 p.m. Thursday.

The meeting will include an executive session, though no action is expected to be taken. The purpose of said meeting, according to a public notice posted on UW’s website, is “to discuss with counsel present pending or potential litigation.”

Once Thursday’s meeting enters an executive session, discussions will take place behind closed doors.

Multiple outlets reported Wednesday that the Big Ten has begun exploratory discussions about adding either two (Washington and Oregon) or four (UW, Oregon, Stanford, Cal) Pac-12 programs in 2024.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel also tweeted Thursday that “the Big Ten’s presidents met early Thursday morning and authorized Commissioner Tony Petitti to explore expansion and bring them back more information on Oregon and Washington as potential Big Ten members. No offers have been made, and a deal is uncertain.”

This comes after Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff presented conference presidents and athletic directors Tuesday with a proposed media-rights package that – according to ESPN – primarily partners with subscription streaming service Apple TV+. Yahoo indicated Wednesday that revenue estimates tied to the proposed Pac-12 deal were as low as $20 million annually per school, with additional revenue tied to subscription incentives.

That number would lag behind figures attached to recent deals struck by the Big Ten ($50 to $70 million annually per school) and Big 12 ($31.7 million per school).

Last week, Colorado announced it will leave the Pac-12 to rejoin the Big 12 in 2024. Arizona, Arizona State and Utah are reportedly considering following Colorado. Arizona and ASU scheduled a joint executive session of their Board of Regents at 6:05 p.m. Thursday.

Should any combination of Arizona, ASU and Utah exit, the Pac-12 – which has functioned in some form since 1915 – could face imminent collapse. The conference’s six remaining members – UW, Oregon, Stanford, Cal, Washington State and Oregon State – are undoubtedly searching for second homes to ensure their survival.

Of course, any hope of a booming Pac-12 future was effectively fractured last summer, when conference heavyweights USC and UCLA announced a move to the Big Ten in 2024.

But a similar move for UW or Oregon (or others) might not be as immediately lucrative as some assume. Yahoo reported Thursday that the Big Ten’s new members would receive discounted media-rights revenue (perhaps 50-60% of a full share) for a multiyear period.

There’s also the matter of College Football Playoff access, which would be theoretically diminished in an expanded Big Ten. Beginning in 2024, the expanded 12-team CFP will include automatic bids to the six highest-ranked conference champions – likely guaranteeing a spot to the Pac-12 champ. In the Big Ten, UW would face a far more daunting climb to the mountaintop.

But survival, it seems, is paramount. And survival – at least, as a competitive “Power Five” program – is certainly at stake for UW’s in-state rival, WSU. The future of the Apple Cup would also be thrown into question with an impending conference split.

Indeed, there is much to be discussed both at the University of Washington and Big Ten headquarters.

Cue the “special meeting.”