Report: Big Ten tells Oregon, Washington it's 'standing pat,' awaits decision on Notre Dame

The Big Ten has made its decision. Oregon and Washington aren’t joining the league — yet.

The league has informed both programs it’s “standing pat,” according to CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd. However, the Big Ten is also awaiting a decision from Notre Dame, which has also been discussed after the latest conference realignment dominoes fell.

USC and UCLA shocked the college sports world on Thursday when they decided to leave the Pac-12 to join the Big Ten starting with the 2024 season. That led to questions about what was next for the other conferences and Notre Dame, which has long been independent.

The Pac-12 released a statement Thursday after the official announcements, saying it’s “disappointed” by the decisions by USC and UCLA to leave the conference.

More on the Big Ten’s decision not to add any more Pac-12 teams yet

A report initially surfaced Thursday night saying the Big Ten wasn’t planning on adding any more Pac-12 teams.

The Los Angeles Times’ Ryan Kartje reported none of the other Pac-12 teams are expected to leave the league to join the two schools in the Big Ten. That means Oregon and Washington — two schools who’ve been looked at as possible departures — appear safe for now.

Notre Dame has seen its name come up in conference realignment talks, as well. The Fighting Irish have long maintained their independent status, instead opting for more of a national schedule. But as things continue to unfold across college athletics, things could change, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

“Notre Dame is going to follow Playoff access,” Thamel said, in part, on The Paul Finebaum Show. “And I think that’s one of the reasons why Jack Swarbrick was one of the linchpins of the administrators who put together the 12-team playoff and he was as disappointed as Greg Sankey was and others that it didn’t end up happening. The reasons for it not happening, honestly, when you look back and say, ‘Oh, the environment’s too hectic, we need to get things fixed. We need to calm them down.’”