'We made the best decision for Oregon'; Dan Lanning shares thoughts on UO's move to Big Ten

For months, Oregon — along with every other Pac-12 program — has had to navigate the uncertainty regarding the future of the conference.

For Dan Lanning’s Ducks, that is no longer the case.

Lanning met with reporters Saturday evening following his team’s fourth fall practice and fielded questions regarding Oregon’s move to the Big Ten and what it means for his program in the long term.

“First off, our players are really excited about that,” Lanning said. “I think it’s an exciting opportunity for us. We talk about, ‘What are we looking for at this university?’ And the way that we recruit on a national level, multiple time zones, playing against the best of the best. That’s something our guys are really, really excited about. Obviously, it’s not our focus right now. We’ve got an entire season to play — this is about the 2023 season. That’s what we wanna attack.

“But I think this creates a unique student-athlete experience for our guys moving forward and it certainly sets us up. I really appreciate the job (athletic director Rob Mullens) and the people at the top did looking out for the future of Oregon. I think it really protects us.”

For as long as Lanning has been at Oregon, he’s been adamant that he isn’t worried about opposing programs using the Pac-12’s instability as a negative recruiting tactic. During Pac-12 Media Day in July, he reiterated that point and said that as long as the Ducks win games, the rest will take care of itself.

On Saturday, though, when asked about the recruiting impact of Oregon’s move to the Big Ten, Lanning acknowledged the built-in recruiting advantage that could follow.

“More than anything, clear direction,” Lanning said. “We have a really clear direction right now. It’s not the what-ifs. It’s not the where-are. It’s really clear where we’re going to be in the future and how we’re set up for long term. … Everybody is always going to recruit hard against us. Ultimately, we’re not really concerned about everybody else. We have a great option to sell here. It’s only stronger now because of what happened yesterday.”

The Ducks currently boast the 14th-best 2024 recruiting class in the nation, according to the On3 Industry Ranking.

Big Ten powers Ohio State (No. 2), Michigan (No. 8), and Penn State (No. 10) all currently sit ahead of the Ducks. The same is true for USC (No. 11), which is also Big-Ten-bound.

“I just think that when you come here, you’re looking for an opportunity to compete against the best,” Lanning said. “I think there’s no secret that there’s really great competition and really great teams in that league. I think it’s a league that means more than just football. Obviously, academically it brings a certain prestige. The fact that it hits every single part of the United States is big for us because we are a team that is a national brand. We should be seen across the nation.”

On Friday, the UO administration expressed its intention to continue prioritizing competition against rival Oregon State ‘in all sports.’

Lanning went out of his way to echo that point on Saturday.

“We wanna play great teams. We wanna continue to play great teams. I know Oregon State’s a great example of a game that we would love to keep,” Lanning said. “We wanna get that opportunity to continue to play against them. That’s something we want. I think it means a lot to the people in this state. That’s something we want. But it’s also a little bit out of our control now. We have to see where the chips fall. But, it’s the furthest thing from my mind right now. It’s about the 2023 team.”

While speaking with reporters on Friday, Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens and UO president Karl Scholz detailed a ‘bold vision for the future of the school’s athletic department and hinted at a future renovation for Autzen Stadium’s north side.

“I was confident from that beginning that our administration, our staff, would make the best decision for Oregon,” Lanning said. “I think that’s what we did — we made the best decision for Oregon.”