Oregon, UW had ‘inbound interest’ to join Big Ten
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Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
ROSEMONT, Ill. — Oregon and Washington‘s “inbound interest” to join the Big Ten in the wake of Colorado‘s departure from the Pac-12 to Big 12 largely spurred the Big Ten to consider adding both schools last month, league commissioner Tony Petitti told ESPN.
The Big Ten had been focused on integrating new members USC and UCLA in 2024 and wasn’t considering further expansion as of late July. But Colorado’s departure to the Big 12 on July 27, before Pac-12 schools saw a streaming-based media rights proposal, changed the landscape, Petitti said.
The Big Ten voted unanimously to add Oregon and Washington on Aug. 4.
“Oregon and Washington, they had really intent, they were working hard to make it an option for them,” Petitti said in his first extensive comments about the expansion additions. “They really, really wanted to be in the Big Ten. We felt that throughout the whole process.”
Oregon and Washington will join the Big Ten in 2024 but not receive full media rights shares, like USC and UCLA will. Both are set to receive between $30-35 million annually, according to sources, a share that will increase by $1 million during the Big Ten’s media contract with Fox, NBC and CBS, which runs through the 2029-30 athletic season.
Petitti said the existing Big Ten members had “receptivity right in the beginning” about adding Oregon and Washington, but wanted to see how scheduling, finances and other issues would be sorted out. The scheduling benefits for USC and UCLA in having two more members on the West Coast factored into the Big Ten’s decision.
“We all felt that whatever aspect we looked at, it made us better,” Petitti said. “It just became that process of trying to figure out how. My job is to make sure the conference is as great in the future as it is today. There are opportunities to protect that and make sure that we are going to get better.”
Petitti said the Big Ten is not looking at expanding beyond 18 members at this time. The league is focused on its 2024 and 2025 football schedules, which will maintain the principles of the “Flex-Protect Plus” model announced in June. Oregon and Washington will play annually as a 12th protected game for the league, chief operating officer Kerry Kenny told ESPN, and other protected games are possible.
The Big Ten is “days, if not weeks” away from announcing home-and-home opponents for the 2024 schedule, and then will finalize the specific dates. The league will eliminate divisions after the 2023 season and have its top two teams play in its championship game.
Kenny said the Big Ten’s priorities with its schedule are to maximize opportunities to access the expanded College Football Playoff, play every team as much as possible, and balancing geography with travel and competitive trends.
“We’re making sure that we don’t have outliers in terms of the hardest schedule or the easiest schedule for any of our teams, and working through how to balance the competitive tiers,” Kenny said. “You’re going to see a lot of what people seemingly liked with the Flex-Protect Plus. We’re going through different options of what that could look like to see how we balance not just the travel component of our Eastern and Central time zone schools, but also the frequency of how we can get everybody to play both at those four [West Coast] schools.”
Pettiti agreed with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey that the CFP format must be assessed following the substantial realignment that took place during the summer. The original 12-team format called for the six highest-rated conference champions and six at-large spots.
“Those circumstances are different,” Petitti said. “It’s our job to make sure that whatever was created makes sense. I will say my No. 1 [goal] is access. Something as big and important as the College Football Playoff, as big and strong as the Big Ten is, my focus is giving as many teams the opportunity in a given season, when they’ve earned it, to compete for a national championship.”
The CFP management committee will next meet Sept. 25 at the Big Ten’s offices. Petitti said he doesn’t know a timetable for when the format will be finalized but said there is “a calendar that gives you a sense of when you have to make decisions, because eventually, we’re going to be playing the games.”
PHOENIX — Ketel Marte is having one of the best seasons of his career on the field.
That hasn’t stopped a fair amount of criticism for the Arizona Diamondbacks slugger off of it.
The All-Star second baseman apologized through an interpreter Monday for missing three games following the All-Star break after flying back to his home in the Dominican Republic — a situation that has apparently been festering in the clubhouse over the past month.
The 31-year-old said he initially expected to return to Phoenix immediately following the break but was “frustrated” and “in a bad spot” after he learned his residence in Scottsdale, Arizona, had been burglarized during the break, according to the interpreter.
The D-backs were playing a crucial stretch of games — fighting for playoff position ahead of the July 31 trade deadline. Arizona placed Marte on the restricted list for the first two games of his absence and then he didn’t play a third game after returning to the club.
In response to criticisms that he takes too many games off, Marte said he has dealt with injury issues and is following a plan designed by the training staff. Marte has missed 33 games this year, the majority of which were because of a hamstring injury.
“I know there’s an elephant in the room and I’ll just say what I want to say about it,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “I know that Ketel talked to you guys and I’m proud of him for doing that. That’s not easy for him to do. I know he showed some vulnerability and I’m really proud of him for digging in the way that he did.
“What I’ll say about Ketel are the things that I know — he’s a great teammate, he’s a great young man, he plays hard every single day for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He just wants to win baseball games. That’s it.”
Marte has dealt with a torrent of criticism after a report in the Arizona Republic last week said that some teammates were frustrated with the second baseman’s behavior over the past month and that his absence after the All-Star break might have partially caused the team’s collapse before the trade deadline.
The D-backs came into the season with high expectations but are 60-65.
Arizona won the three games Marte missed after the All-Star break — sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals — but then lost nine of 10 when he returned to the lineup.
That affected the organization’s approach at the trade deadline. The Diamondbacks sent third baseman Eugenio Suárez and first baseman Josh Naylor to the Seattle Mariners in separate deals, outfielder Randal Grichuk to the Kansas City Royals and right-hander Merrill Kelly to the Texas Rangers.
Marte is having a terrific all-around offensive season, batting .297 with 23 homers and 56 RBIs. The three-time All-Star has been with the organization since 2017 and was key to the team’s unexpected run to the World Series in 2023.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Seattle Mariners outfielder Victor Robles was ejected from a minor league game during a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma on Sunday after he was nearly hit by an inside pitch and tossed his bat at the pitcher.
Las Vegas starter Joey Estes’ first pitch to Robles in the third inning was inside and Robles whacked at it to avoid getting hit.
After taking a few steps behind the plate and dropping his bat, Robles picked up the bat and threw it in Estes’ direction and was immediately ejected from the game by plate umpire Joe McCarthy.
Robles, who was hit by a pitch three times in his previous four games with Tacoma, took some steps toward the mound while yelling at the pitcher but was held back by McCarthy and Las Vegas teammates.
After going into the dugout, Robles threw a box of snacks toward the field before heading to the clubhouse.
He took to social media later to apologize for letting his frustration get the best of him.
“Coming off a long rehab and being away from the game for most of the season has been physically and mentally challenging,” Robles said in his Instagram story. “Adding to that, the recent passing of my mother has been incredibly hard, and I’ve been doing my best to hold it together. That’s not an excuse, but some context I feel you deserve to understand where I’m coming from.”
He added, “Getting hit 5 times in 15 at-bats added to that pressure, and I reacted in a way I’m not proud of. This game means the world to me, and so do the people who play it. I respect every one of you, not just as a player, but as a teammate and competitor.”
Robles is rehabbing a dislocated left shoulder he suffered in April.
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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