Pacific-12 Powerhouses USC and UCLA are involved in discussions to leave the conference for the Big Ten as early as the 2024 athletic season, sources told CBS Sports’ Matt Nolander. The move isn’t final yet and is still in the exploration stage, but Big Ten seems to be looking for a significant acquisition that will change the university’s sports world.
“Everything is at the table,” a Pac-12 source told Nolander.
According to Athletic, the President of Big Ten and the athletic director met Wednesday night to discuss adding USC and UCLA to the league.
The transition to the Big Ten at USC and UCLA is similar to what rocked college sports last summer when Texas and Oklahoma chose to leave the Big 12 at the SEC.
It started a reorganization jackpot where Big 12, America and other conferences saw teams move in and out of their membership. A similar situation could occur here if USC and UCLA formalized their intention to leave Pac-12. This move will also constitute a surprising difference in the direction of UCLA and Cal, partners of the University of California system.
With the acquisition of Trojan horses and Bruins, the Big Ten will change from a predominantly Midwest conference to a West Coast conference. This will make a big difference in the college sports environment at the power five level. Power Five Levels are mainly localized to teams belonging to the league in the area.
USC and UCLA bring Big Ten to a total of 16 teams. This is the same number as the SEC when Texas and Oklahoma enter the fold. There are 14 teams in ACC, and the Big 12 will settle to 12 in BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF after UT and OU depart.
This acquisition will be an important coup for Kevin Warren, a fourth-year big ten commissioner. Kevin Warren is the first Power Five boss to cancel the 2020 season in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The news came less than a year after Big Ten and Pac-12 (along with ACC) announced a strategic alliance following the SEC’s addition of Texas and Oklahoma. The alliance has been neglected from the outset for substantive action, and the poaching of the two Pac-12 powers by Big Ten further undermines the notion that leagues work together to combat the growing power of the SEC in college sports. only.
Pac-12’s media rights agreement expires in 2024, Big Ten Negotiations on new media rights transactions It’s said to start next season and exceed $ 1 billion a year, so the timing of such discussions is natural. With the expiration of that Pac-12 contract, USC and UCLA will have little financial burden, even if they eventually choose to leave for Big Ten.
Jon Wilner of San Jose Mercury-News first reported that USC and UCLA are planning to depart Pac-12 for the Big Ten.
