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.
| UCLA | USC | Oregon | Washington |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
