If Ben Franklin were alive today, he’d add another subject to one of his most famous lines. In this world, nothing can be said to be certain except for death and taxes … and college conference realignment.
As of Monday, the Big Ten added Oregon, Southern California, Washington and UCLA. This new-look league will catch the attention of fans and Michigan sports betting customers alike. That’s just one piece of the shifting conference alignment puzzle: Texas and Oklahoma are now members of the SEC. Southern Methodist is now in the ACC, with California and Stanford officially joining the league next month. The Big 12 now is home to Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah.
Check out our Michigan Wolverines football betting guide for more about the upcoming season.
What once was the Power 5 is now the Power 4 because the Pac-12 went away as of Sunday. The movement has stopped for now, but it can rear up again at any given moment. That includes the now 18-member Big Ten, which is in an arms race – the quarterbacks kind – with the SEC to be the dominant college conference in the country. To do that, the B1G will want to beat its rivals from the South at picking up new schools.
The most likely target for the next round of realignment is the ACC, which now spans from Boston to Miami to California’s Bay Area, with a layover in Dallas. Florida State has already filed a lawsuit against the ACC seeking to break its “grant of rights agreement” that gives the conference broadcast rights to a school’s home contests for the duration of its television deal. That means if FSU were to bolt to the SEC, the ACC would still control its broadcasting rights and the money that goes with it.
Should Florida State succeed in dissolving the ACC’s poison pill, it would set off a new land rush, and the Big Ten would be in the mix. With that in mind, BetMichigan.com, your home for the best Michigan sports betting promos, has established the following odds for which schools would likely join the Big Ten the next time schools decide to play musical chairs.
A reminder these odds are for infotainment purposes only. You will not find them at any licensed Michigan sportsbook.
College | Odds | Percentage Chance |
Virginia | +500 | 16.7% |
North Carolina | +600 | 14.3% |
Georgia Tech | +600 | 14.3% |
California | +1000 | 9.1% |
Stanford | +1000 | 9.1% |
Notre Dame | +1500 | 6.3% |
Miami (FL) | +1500 | 6.3% |
Florida State | +2000 | 4.8% |
Clemson | +2000 | 4.8% |
The Field | +500 | 16.7% |
One could argue that the Big Ten already has the Washington, DC market covered thanks to former ACC member Maryland. But Virginia still makes a compelling case for being a Big Ten school.
Conferences are 90% about athletics, but the Big Ten also makes academics a factor. Of its 18 members, 17 belong to the Association of American Universities, a group of premier research institutions across the country. Virginia joined the AAU back in 1904.
The Cavaliers currently field 27 teams in Division I athletics. They’ve won 23 national titles in men’s sports and 11 women’s championships. In short, they have the resume to belong in the Big Ten.
So does North Carolina. The state’s flagship school is also a long-time member of the AAU. UNC would also open the Big Ten to four top 50 TV markets in the nation. That’s a key factor that would help the conference seek bigger money TV deals. The Tar Heels also have won 50 national championships, eighth-most among all Division I schools.
The Heels, though, likely will not add a football title to their trophy chest this season. BetMGM Michigan Sportsbook gives UNC odds of +30000 to win the College Football Playoff in January.
If TV markets are key, Georgia Tech makes a strong case, too. The Yellow Jackets are the second banana, even in their hometown of Atlanta, to the University of Georgia. Still, Tech is one of the top schools in the country, and being in America’s eighth-largest TV market only adds to its appeal.
At Michigan sportsbook apps, the Big Ten program deemed most likely to reach the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff is Ohio State, at odds ranging from -650 to -750.
It’s not a matter of if conferences will expand again. It’s when. Once the Florida State-ACC lawsuit reaches a resolution, we’ll likely start to feel the tremors.
While we all can bemoan the constant shuffling, schools around the country feel the need to generate more money for their athletic departments. Lawsuits have recently been settled that require schools to pay student-athletes, so those programs will need to come up with millions of dollars they had not budgeted for. One of the most tried-and-true methods of raising cash is to hit up their broadcasting partners. If the teams can attract viewers, then the networks will be happy to comply.
College football season is around the corner, and Michigan is looking to defend its national championship. At Caesars Michigan Sportsbook, the Wolverines have odds of +2500 to win it all again. That is 10 on the operator’s board for a program that’s replacing coach Jim Harbaugh with Sherrone Moore. Georgia in the favorite at +310 odds to win the national championship, followed by Ohio State at +375 and Texas at +750.
As for Michigan’s rivals in East Lansing, look to our Michigan State football betting guide for the 2024 season.
USA Today photo by Trevor Ruszkowski
The Big Ten will introduce its first season with 18 teams through the additions of UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington from the former Pac-12 Conference. It will also be the Big Ten’s first season since 2010 with a non-divisional scheduling format.
Even in the immediate aftermath of USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington joining the Big Ten for the 2024-25 season, talk is already floating about the potential for the Big Ten to expand past 18 teams in the near future. No teams are officially being added yet, but speculation has started about which universities could jump to the Big Ten next.
Author
Steve is an accomplished, award-winning reporter with more than 20 years of experience covering gaming, sports, politics and business. He has written for the Associated Press, Reuters, The Louisville Courier Journal, The Center Square and numerous other publications. Based in Louisville, Ky., Steve has covered the expansion of sports betting in the U.S. and other gaming matters.
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