Pac-12 USC and UCLA are finalizing plans to leave the Big Ten conference in the 2024 athletic season, say CBS Sports sources Matt Norlander and Dennis Dodd. Although this move is not yet official, it seems that the Big Ten are striving to make a significant gain that will change the sports landscape in college.
An announcement to deal with the intentions of USC and UCLA is expected on Thursday afternoon, sources close to the situation told Dodd. The USC and UCLA must first inform the Pac-12 of their decisions to leave the conference before applying for membership in the Big Ten. At this point, the Big Ten can vote on whether to expand their league, a development that could happen as early as Thursday night.
“It’s all on the table,” said a source at Norlander’s Pac-12, who also said Big Ten presidents and athletic directors met Wednesday night to discuss adding USC and UCLA to the conference.
The USC and UCLA transition to the Big Ten would be similar to the one that rocked college sports last summer when Texas and Oklahoma chose to leave the Big 12 for the SEC, a move that must take place before the 2025 season.
This marked the beginning of a readjustment in which the Big 12, American and other conferences saw teams come in and out of membership. A similar situation is likely to arise here if USC and UCLA formalize their intentions to leave Pac-12. This move would also be a stunning discrepancy in the direction of UCLA and Cal, partners in the University of California system.
With the acquisition of the Trojans and Bruins, the Big Ten will be transformed from a conference largely from the Midwest to one that stretches from New Jersey to California. This would be a significant change in the college sports landscape at the Power Five level, which is largely localized with teams belonging primarily to leagues in their geographical area.
“That’s all for SC at the end of the day: the SC’s desire to move and then they need a partner in crime,” a Pac-12 source told Dodd. “It comes down to the football value of USC, which drives this and the market in Los Angeles.”
USC and UCLA will lead the Big Ten to a total of 16 teams, the same number as the SEC, once Texas and Oklahoma officially join. ACC has 14 teams, while the Big 12 will settle at 12 with BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF in the fold after UT and OU.
This acquisition will be a significant coup for Big Ten’s fourth commissioner Kevin Warren, the first head of Power Five to cancel the 2020 season amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The news comes less than a year after Big Ten and Pac-12 – along with ACC – announced a strategic alliance following the addition of the Texas and Oklahoma SEC. This alliance has been light-hearted from the outset, and the Pac-12’s Big Ten poaching only further undermines the idea that the leagues will work together to combat the SEC’s growing power in college sports.
As the Pac-12 media rights deal expires in 2024, and the Big Ten are in the midst of negotiations for a new media rights deal, which could begin as early as next season and reportedly exceed $ 1 billion a year, the moment is natural for such discussions. The expiration of this Pac-12 deal should leave USC and UCLA with little financial burden if they eventually choose to go to the Big Ten.
John Wilner of San Jose Mercury-News announced for the first time that USC and UCLA plan to leave Pac-12 for the Big Ten.
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