COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Big Ten will become the first Power 5 Conference to stretch from coast to coast after its chancellors and presidents voted to accept the membership applications of USC and UCLA.
Multiple reports said the vote was unanimous. Both programs are expected to join the Big Ten in 2024.
“After thoughtful deliberation, we came to the conclusion that the best way to do that amidst rapidly changing times in collegiate athletics is to join the Big Ten Conference,” UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond, a former deputy AD at OSU, said in a Twitter post. “From increased exposure and a broader national platform for our student-athletes, to enhanced resources for our teams, this move will help preserve the legacy of UCLA Athletics for generations to come.
“We have deeply valued our membership in the Pac-12, and we have great respect for the conference and our fellow member institutions, but each school faces its own unique challenges and circumstances. We believe this is the right move for UCLA at the right time.”
The development, first reported as imminent by Pac-12 Hotline’s Jon Wilner on Thursday afternoon, may also hasten the Power 5′s contraction to a smaller number of major college conferences.
The Big Ten’s first expansion since 2014 pulls in two major college sports brands from Los Angeles, the nation’s second-largest media market. That identity is especially relevant as the Big Ten finalizes new media rights deals that some analysts predicted would reach $1 billion.
Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren said last month he expected a TV deal by Memorial Day, but expansion talks may have complicated that timeline. Along those lines, Sports Business Journal reported Thursday night that Apple reached out to the Big Ten to re-engage in media rights discussions after the USC-UCLA news broke.
Adding UCLA and USC pushes Big Ten membership to 16, and it is fair to wonder if more will come. Programs left behind in the Pac-12 could also seek new membership. With the Big Ten and the SEC both positioning themselves as the marquee conferences in Power 5, what does that mean for ACC programs?
USC has at times been among college football’s most powerful and successful programs. The Trojans hired Lincoln Riley away from Oklahoma after last season in an attempt to return to the success it had under Pete Carroll in the first decade of the 2000s.
UCLA has only three top-25 AP poll finishes since 1998 and only one in the top 10. However, it is a blue blood men’s basketball program with a record 11 national championships. The Big Ten’s western border previously stretched only to Lincoln, Nebraska. Now it includes schools located over 2,700 miles from its easternmost member, Rutgers, in Piscataway, N.J.
Is Thursday’s surprise development only the first step, and if so, how far north and south will the Big Ten stretch when this is over?
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