I don't really think that the Big Ten being coy about Oregon and Washington is as much of a PR thing as people here believe. I think the Big Ten needs to seriously consider if Oregon and Washington really increase future media deals enough to justify giving them a cut. (It seems like they would have to take a reduced cut for the current media deal, but would get a full cut after that.) Especially when you consider that the ACC could implode tomorrow and open up more possibilities that would provide more value than Oregon and Washington (Clemson/FSU) and that are on the same level, but might provide other benefits. like opening recruiting areas up or luring Notre Dame (UNC/Duke/Miami/Pitt).
I don't think Washington and Oregon are as big of a Big 12 pipedream as the media would have you believe.
Perfect example of the shallow thinking of the “but do they add value?” people.
The calculus should be:
how do we need to be positioned?
how is the SEC going to be positioned?
Are we getting one up on the SEC with these adds even though they may not add “value” right at this second?
do the mascots on the jersey even matter or is it just a magic number?
Are OU/Wash in the hand worth two “ACC schools to possibly be named later” in the bush?
Will this action further crack the ND egg?
Can these adds get us closer to Fox becoming a billion dollar exclusive carrier for the Big 10 in 5-10 years?
And I think first and foremost there is a mindset of “if you aren’t adding, you’re losing and you may not be at the top of the pecking order when the next round comes, and no one knows what the next round looks like, but we do know that there are strength in numbers”