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Big Ten officially adds 4 new programs, releases video highlighting 18-team league

Spenser Davis

By Spenser Davis

Published:

The Big Ten is officially an 18-team conference, with USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington joining the league when the calendar shifted to Aug. 2 on Friday.

Their move has been anticipated for months, but is now official just ahead of the 2024 college football season.

“We are excited today to officially welcome the University of Oregon, UCLA, USC and the University of Washington to the Big Ten Conference,” Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti said in a press release. “All four institutions feature a combination of world class academics and athletics that are a great fit for our conference, and we look forward to building long-lasting relationships with the administrators, coaches, student-athletes, alumni and fans.”

To celebrate the occasion, the Big Ten shared a new video promoting all 18 of its members:

The Big Ten Network is set to celebrate the arrival of these 4 teams with special programming throughout the day on Friday.

Of the four newcomers, Oregon faces the highest expectations for the 2024 season. The Ducks are big favorites to reach the College Football Playoff this year and are expected to compete for the Big Ten title alongside Ohio State.

USC is also expected to have a good season in Year 3 of the Lincoln Riley era. The Trojans had a difficult year in 2023, but could bounce back after hiring a new defensive coordinator this offseason.

Washington and UCLA are both entering the 2024 season with new head coaches. Washington will have former Arizona coach Jedd Fisch running the show as it looks to rebuild after losing much of its personnel and coaching staff this offseason. UCLA hired DeShaun Foster to replace Chip Kelly as its head coach.

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Spenser Davis

Spenser is the news manager at Saturday Road and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.