October 11, 2024

Distances each Big Ten newcomer from West Coast will travel as conference expands to 18 teams


COLLEGE FOOTBALL: JUL 23 2024 Big Ten Football Media Days
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Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington are officially members of the Big Ten just over two years after the two Los Angeles-based programs announced their exit from the Pac-12. The additions of the four West Coast-based schools sees the Big Ten swell to 18 members to become the most populated conference in the country.

Extensive travel will be at the forefront of issues each of the four new members faces when playing games outside the Pacific and Mountain Time zones. No member of the Big Ten will be as impacted as much as UCLA in the travel department. 

With road games on the schedule this fall against Hawai’i, LSU, Penn State, Rutgers, Nebraska and Washington, the Bruins will travel well over 25,000 miles roundtrip. Compare that to UCLA’s road schedule last season (San Diego State, Utah, Oregon State, Stanford, Arizona and USC), and there’s a stark contrast in the amount of airline miles the program will rack up.

USC’s inaugural season as a member of the Big Ten features road games against reigning College Football Playoff national champion Michigan, Maryland and Minnesota. Washington travels to Penn State, Iowa and Rutgers, while Oregon has showdowns away from Autzen Stadium against Michigan, Purdue and Wisconsin.

The new schedule is part of the Big Ten’s new “Flex Protect XVIII” model, which features a combination of protected opponents and rotating opponents for different teams. UCLA’s crosstown showdown with USC and Oregon’s rivalry with Washington are among the annual protected matchups in the new-look Big Ten.

Frequent fliers in the new-look Big Ten

The distance (one-way in miles) between the Pac-12 schools joining the Big Ten and the rest of the teams in their new conference.

Rutgers 2,423 Rutgers 2,425 Rutgers 2,460 Maryland 2,326
Maryland 2,339 Maryland 2,298 Maryland 2,387 Penn State 2,220
Penn State 2,257 Penn State 2,243 Penn State 2,286 Ohio State 1,999
Ohio State 1,994 Indiana 2,178 Ohio State 2,049 Michigan 1,901
Michigan 1,943 Ohio State 1,972 Michigan 1,966 Indiana 1,870
Michigan State 1,933 Michigan 1,946 Purdue 1,930 Michigan State 1,853
Purdue 1,793 MSU 1,912 Michigan State 1,922 Purdue 1,809
Indiana 1,784 Purdue 1,768 Indiana 1,901 Illinois 1,742
Illinois 1,760 Northwestern 1,741 Illinois 1,748 Rutgers 1,702
Wisconsin 1,691 Illinois 1,738 Northwestern 1,743 Northwestern 1,693
Northwestern 1,624 Wisconsin 1,671 Wisconsin 1,676 Wisconsin 1,616
Minnesota 1,544 Iowa 1,544 Iowa 1,596 Iowa 1,551
Iowa 1,541 Minnesota 1,525 Minnesota 1,463 Minnesota 1,391
Nebraska 1,308 Nebraska 1,287 Nebraska 1,357 Nebraska 1,344
Washington 959 Washington 965 USC 738 USC 965
Oregon 729 Oregon 738 UCLA 729 UCLA 959
USC 17 UCLA 17 Washington 252 Oregon 252





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