The Big Ten announced Thursday its new schedule format and matchups for the 2024 and 2025 football seasons.
The conference will feature 16 teams, with USC and UCLA joining the mix in 2024. The Big Ten will no longer have divisions but will debut a “Flex Protect Plus” model, which includes a combination of protected games and rotating opponents for each team. Schools will still play nine league games per season, and every conference pairing will face off at least twice in a four-year period, once at each team’s home stadium.
Big Ten teams will also meet certain opponents in both the 2024 and 2025 seasons, which the conference describes as “two-plays.” The matchups will change for the 2026-27 cycle.
