Eric Roberts 
After incorporating Oregon and Washington into its membership, the Big Ten conference has officially unveiled its revised football schedules for the 2024 to 2028 seasons. The initial schedule format was released in June but required adjustments due to the inclusion of these two new teams.
This latest schedule adopts what the conference refers to as the “Flex Protect XVII” model, a structure that combines protected matchups and rotating opponents for member universities. Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti explained the need for this revision during a conference call, stating, “We added two more [teams], but that changes everything. We got to go back to the drawing board and do this rotation again.” He emphasized the continuity of core principles from the original announcement, such as competitive balance, conference cohesion, mindful travel, and the preservation of traditional rivalries.
Within this new format, there are 12 guaranteed protected matchups that will occur annually. These include contests between Illinois and Northwestern, Illinois and Purdue, Indiana and Purdue, Iowa and Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska, Iowa and Wisconsin, Maryland and Rutgers, Michigan and Michigan State, Michigan and Ohio State, Minnesota and Wisconsin, Oregon and Washington, and UCLA and USC.
The inclusion of four West Coast teams raised logistical challenges regarding travel and student-athlete well-being. Big Ten’s chief operating officer, Kerry Kenny, stressed that the conference worked closely with athletic directors to strike a balance that would be efficient for all parties involved. Kenny clarified that the aim was not to saturate the conference with midweek games involving West Coast teams and East Coast teams but to take a thoughtful, sport-specific approach to minimize disruptions.
The mental and physical well-being of student-athletes played a pivotal role in scheduling decisions. Factors such as avoiding back-to-back games with significant time zone differences and considering the weekly rhythms of a season, bye weeks, and Friday night games were all taken into account.
In the 2024 season, the newly added teams will have several away games. Oregon will travel to Michigan, Purdue, Wisconsin, and UCLA, while USC will play away games at Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, UCLA, and Washington. UCLA’s away games will take them to Nebraska, Penn State, Rutgers, and Washington, and Washington will travel to Indiana, Iowa, Penn State, Rutgers, and Oregon.
Each team will participate in nine conference games per season, with a limitation of facing rotating opponents no more than three times within a five-year period. Furthermore, the 2024 season will mark the first time there are no divisions within the conference, featuring a total of 18 teams. As a result, the Big Ten championship game will showcase the top two teams in the standings at the conclusion of the regular season.
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