Ranking Big Ten New Additions: Oregon Ducks Surge, Washington Huskies Slump

For the Big Ten Conference, this year was marked by many firsts. Most pressing, were the additions of the Oregon Ducks, Washington Huskies, UCLA Bruins, and the USC Trojans. These PAC-12 Conference defectors rounded out the Big Ten's 18 team roster and in the Big Ten's first non-divisional scheduling format since 2010, shook up the historic conference.

“Look, we're focused on the 18 right now,” Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti said. “That's what we're focused on. We had to do a lot of work. A lot of work had been done to integrate USC, UCLA. We started that work over immediately when we added Oregon and Washington. I think we're really comfortable where we are."

But which athletic programs are settling in well with their new conference? With a majority of sports seeing their 2024 season wrapped, and the Outdoor Track and Field Championships coming to a close at Hayward Field this past weekend, looking at teams' records and conference championship wins sheds some light on the newly added programs' successes.

Below is a ranking of the four newcomers to the Big Ten:

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No. 1: Oregon Ducks

Championships: 8

- Women's Cross County
- Football
- Men's Indoor Track & Field
- Women's Indoor Track & Field
- Women's Golf
- Softball
- Men's Outdoor Track & Field
- Baseball

Tournament Wins: 0

Dominating their new conference with the most championships out of any program in the Big Ten is the Oregon Ducks. On the football side, the Ducks finished with a program first 13-0 season, beating the Penn State Nittany Lions for the Big Ten Football Championship.

The Ducks' most recent championship pick up, with baseball, concluded this past week with a series sweep against the Iowa Hawkeyes on the road. The Ducks outscored the Hawkeyes 32-10 during the series. Oregon also picked up an Indoor Track and Field Championship for their men's team.

For the Ducks, their football team, both men's and women's basketball teams, baseball, and softball all made it to the post season with a top ten ranking. Oregon currently holds the most 2024 championship titles compared to every other school in the Big Ten.

No. 2: UCLA Bruins

Championships: 3

- Women's Gymnastics
- Baseball
- Men's Golf

Tournament Wins: 3

- Women's Soccer
- Women's Basketball
- Men's Tennis

The UCLA Bruins take the second spot not just with wins in women's gymnastics and men's golf (and a share of the baseball championship after beating Northwestern), but also with their three tournament wins.

Though USC took home the Big Ten Championship due to their 80-67 win over the Bruins, the Bruins did come back and beat the Trojans in the post-season for the Big Ten Tournament Championship 72-67. Their women's soccer and men's tennis post-season wins also contribute to a successful first year in the Big Ten.

Ohio State currently ties UCLA with three tournament wins and Michigan leads the tournament wins for the 2024 Big Ten season with four.

No. 3: USC Trojans

Championships: 3

- Women's Basketball
- Women's Outdoor Track & Field
- Women's Soccer

Tournament Wins: 0

From beating the Bruins in the regular season women's basketball championship, to clinching women's outdoor track and field and women's soccer titles, USC follows up on the newcomers list for the Big Ten.

Regarding USC's most recent championship win in women's track and field, the Trojans took down the runner up Ducks and third place Bruins to secure the title. The Trojans also took home four individual outdoor titles as well.

No. 4: Washington Huskies

Championships: 1

- Rowing

Tournament Wins: 0

Rounding out the list of newcomers to the Big Ten Conference is the Washington Huskies. With a new football coach, Jedd Fisch, installed before their welcome to the new conference, the Huskies took on a rebuilding year with a 4-5 conference record in 2024 (matching with USC and above UCLA's 3-6).

Regarding their first title in their new conference, the Huskies swept the first ever televised rowing championship on the Big Ten Network. The Huskies are the second team to win every race in the rowing championships behind Ohio State in 2018.