USC

USC and UCLA are planning a move from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten conference as early as 2024, sources confirmed to ESPN.

Those financial pressures left USC and UCLA with the choice of bullying the Pac-12 for unequal revenue shares or going elsewhere and having a seat at the table for the long term. It will be interesting to see how this will affect Fox's upcoming television deal with the Big Ten, which is expected to be announced in the upcoming weeks. Pac-12 officials had been nudging both Los Angeles schools for years to extend the grant of rights. A source said that the exploration of finances and what it would take to make the move has been going on for weeks. Multiple sources told ESPN on Thursday that the move is expected to happen. There is still a formal notification process, as the two schools have to let the Pac-12 know their intentions to leave.

The potential move by the West Coast college sports powers would stretch the Big Ten's membership into Los Angeles with its 15th and 16th schools.

The three conferences, standing with the SEC and Big 12 among a long-familiar “Power Five,” a phrase tilting toward obsolescence, ultimately blocked the expansion, which may yet happen once the 12-year playoff TV contract expires in 2026. The Pac-12 perfected its storm through parity and fate by reaching none of the past five College Football Playoffs while appearing in just two of the first eight in the four-team playoff concept. In their appeal football-wise, Southern California and UCLA resemble Texas, with their limited recent competitive relevance in national football offset by their large alumni bases and visibility. It has had a TV contract long seen as insufficient next to other conferences such as the Big Ten, which already had begun negotiating new media rights projected to garner more than $1 billion even before adding two big doses of Los Angeles. “There’s no signed contract,” Kliavkoff said. Those three were the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big Ten and the Pac-12, which has included Southern California for 100 years and UCLA for 94.

USC and UCLA's decision to join the Big Ten in 2024 will make a significant impact in the college sports world. Here's a breakdown of what the move means.

Perhaps that means combining with the Big 12 that will be without Texas and Oklahoma or wiggling into the mighty Big Ten, as could be the likely destination for Oregon and Washington. Oregon is the meme of confused John Travolta looking around an empty room. Thursday’s news is the Big Ten’s answer, poaching major programs from the nation’s largest media market with a Power 5 school. Initial reports indicated that the Big Ten’s next media rights deal, which is scheduled to start in 2023, could be worth $1 billion. Eight years later, the Big Ten has added an even bigger media fish by claiming the Los Angeles market. Now if USC or USC travels east to play one of their Big Ten opponents, they’ll be almost guaranteed a game that starts in the morning or early afternoon for West Coast fans. East Coast fans and media simply weren’t staying up until 1 a.m. EDT to watch two Pac-12 teams fumble the ball back and forth. The Big Ten sent 10 of its 14 teams to bowl games last season and went 6-4. Meanwhile, the Big Ten has appeared in six of eight playoff semifinals, led by Ohio State’s four playoff berths. According to USA Today, the Big Ten paid its 12 longest-standing members between $43.1 million to $49.1 million, a drop ranging from 9.6% to 20.6% compared to the previous year’s average. Advertisement (Big Ten newbies Maryland and Rutgers received $27.6 and $11.4 million, respectively, in 2020.)

Pac-12 powerhouses USC and UCLA are finalizing plans to leave the conference for the Big Ten as early as the 2024 athletic season, sources tell CBS Sports' ...

The expiration of that Pac-12 deal should leave USC and UCLA with little financial burden should they ultimately choose to depart for the Big Ten. USC and UCLA would bring the Big Ten to a total of 16 teams, the same number as the SEC once Texas and Oklahoma officially join. That kicked off a realignment bonanza in which the Big 12, American and other conferences saw teams move in and out of their membership.

USC Athletics | June 30, 2022. Story Links. LOS ANGELES – The University of Southern California will take the historic step of joining the Big Ten ...

We are grateful to her, and to Athletic Director Bohn, for solidifying USC's place in the national athletics landscape and serving the best interests of the university's students and other stakeholders. Ultimately, the Big Ten is the best home for USC and Trojan athletics as we move into the new world of collegiate sports. For more than two years, our athletics department has been unified behind our vision to be the most student-athlete centered program in the country. We look forward to competing these next two years in the Pac-12 and want to express our sincerest gratitude to the conference and its member institutions for decades of wonderful experiences. In analyzing a move to the Big Ten, we thoughtfully considered the prospect of additional travel for our student-athletes. We intend to end our membership in the Pac-12 conference when the Pac-12's current media rights agreement expires in August 2024. While today's decision is the culmination of extraordinary efforts by so many, it is only the beginning of our journey to the Big Ten. Though we may not have every question answered today, we will by August 2024. While we are fierce competitors on the field, we have a rich tradition of collaboration that we are excited to continue. "Ultimately, the Big Ten is the best home for USC and Trojan athletics as we move into the new world of collegiate sports," Athletic Director Mike Bohn said. We have worked hard over the past three years to ground university decisions in what is best for our students. The enhanced resources from this move will enable additional support for our student-athletes as well as benefit initiatives surrounding academics, accessibility and affordability. This decision was made after serious deliberation and analysis, and with great appreciation and respect for our Pac-12 colleagues with whom we have enjoyed a wonderful history and relationship.

Both USC and UCLA announced Thursday night their intentions of leaving the Pac-12 conference for the Big Ten for the 2024-25 academic year. The move has seismic ...

The three conferences set up scheduling arrangements in some sports and have pooled resources to promote athlete welfare. The Pac-12 has had teams in the College Football Playoff just twice — Oregon (2014 season) and Washington (2016). We believe this is the right move for UCLA at the right time.” “Ultimately, the Big Ten is the best home for USC and Trojan athletics as we move into the new world of collegiate sports,” USC athletic director Mike Bohn said. We also will benefit from the stability and strength of the conference; the athletic caliber of Big Ten institutions; the increased visibility, exposure, and resources the conference will bring our student-athletes and programs; and the ability to expand engagement with our passionate alumni nationwide.” USC and UCLA fit the Big Ten’s academic profile.

With UCLA and USC in the Big Ten, the conference would have 16 schools — the same number as the SEC once Texas and Oklahoma join in 2025.

- "It means enhanced resources for all of our teams, from academic support to mental health and wellness. The big picture: It's another seismic shift in college sports. The University of Southern California and the University of California at Los Angeles will leave the Pac-12 conference and join the Big Ten at the start of the 2024-25 season, the schools announced on Thursday.

UCLA and the University of Southern California, two of the best-known powers of college sports, will leave their century-old affiliation with the Pac-12 ...

“We’ve long been known as the Conference of Champions, and we’re unwavering in our commitment to extend that title,” the statement said. "Additionally, it means enhanced resources for all of our teams, from academic support to mental health and wellness," UCLA Chancellor Gene D. Black and Athletics Director Martin Jarmond said in a statement. And with both schools shifting conferences, the crosstown rivalry will remain intact.

The move, planned for 2024, would make the Big Ten the first college athletics conference to stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

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The next big domino in college football realignment might be about to fall. Jon...

Multiple sources tell @latimes that no other Pac-12 members are expected to be added to the Big Ten at this time. The Ducks have become the best school on the West Coast over the last four years under Mario Cristobal and might not want to be the big fish in a small pond. https://t.co/jWgX3ZBs2J Brett McMurphy of Action Network reported the Big Ten conference may not stop at 16 teams. will not be following USC and UCLA. College football has always featured a gap between the haves and have-nots.

The Pac-12 stalwarts' planned defection is the latest move in a college sports shake-up driven by schools' desire to secure ever-bigger payouts from rich ...

In the eight years of the College Football Playoff, only twice have Pac-12 teams qualified—Oregon in the 2014 season and Washington in 2016. The Big Ten reported paying $54.3 million to each of its longest-standing member schools. But as football broadcast rights became the driving force in revenue across college sports in recent years, the Pac-12 lagged behind. Fox has won the rights to air some Big Ten football games and Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren has been in discussions with several other outlets, including Amazon, CBS, ESPN and NBC, about airing the rest of the Big Ten’s package. All together, it was expected to generate in excess of $1 billion per year when the Big Ten stood at 14 schools. We also will benefit from the stability and strength of the conference,” Trojans athletic director Mike Bohn said in a statement. In 2012, it funded its own hub of regional networks but struggled to gain wide carriage on cable-TV providers. Staff members at Pac-12 schools have grown increasingly concerned that the conference can’t keep pace with the SEC and others. USC and UCLA are two of the Pac-12’s most decorated schools athletically and they reside in its largest media market. The shift is the latest example of prominent universities moving to ever-richer athletic conferences, attracted by ever-rising broadcast-rights contracts for football games. The conference’s current six-year, $2.64 billion deal expires in 2023. USC and UCLA will remain in the Pac-12 through the 2023-24 academic year, after which the conference’s current television deal expires, to avoid financial penalty associated with early termination.

USC and UCLA have been accepted as the newest members of the Big Ten conference with league officials approving their membership Thursday night.

"... We will continue to develop new and innovative programs that directly benefit our member institutions, and we look forward to partnering with current and potential members to pioneer the future of college athletics together." The 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 depart. The move constitutes a stunning divergence in direction for UCLA, which is partners with Cal in the University of California system and had previously suggested the universities would remain linked. "Ultimately, the Big Ten is the best home for USC and Trojan athletics as we move into the new world of collegiate sports," USC athletic director Mike Bohn said. USC and UCLA have been accepted as the newest members of the Big Ten conference with league officials approving their membership Thursday night. "As the national leader in academics and athletics for over 126 years, the Big Ten Conference has historically evaluated its membership with the collective goal to forward the academic and athletic mission for student-athletes under the umbrella of higher education," Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren said.

Sports powers will abandon longtime West Coast home, the latest move in a conference reshuffling that has prioritized dollars over tradition and geography.

“Entry into the Big Ten will also help ensure that UCLA preserves and maintains all 25 current teams and more than 700 student-athletes in our program,” the UCLA officials said. We would also explore scheduling accommodations with the Big Ten that best support our student-athletes’ academic pursuits.” In 2019–20, the last year for which data are available, each long-term member of the Big Ten earned $54.3 million each, while Pac-12 members took home $33.6 million, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"Ultimately, the Big Ten is the best home for USC and Trojan athletics as we move into the new world of collegiate sports," Athletic Director Mike Bohn said. " ...

We are grateful to her, and to Athletic Director Bohn, for solidifying USC's place in the national athletics landscape and serving the best interests of the university's students and other stakeholders. Ultimately, the Big Ten is the best home for USC and Trojan athletics as we move into the new world of collegiate sports. For more than two years, our athletics department has been unified behind our vision to be the most student-athlete centered program in the country. We look forward to competing these next two years in the Pac-12 and want to express our sincerest gratitude to the conference and its member institutions for decades of wonderful experiences. In analyzing a move to the Big Ten, we thoughtfully considered the prospect of additional travel for our student-athletes. We intend to end our membership in the Pac-12 conference when the Pac-12's current media rights agreement expires in August 2024. While today's decision is the culmination of extraordinary efforts by so many, it is only the beginning of our journey to the Big Ten. Though we may not have every question answered today, we will by August 2024. While we are fierce competitors on the field, we have a rich tradition of collaboration that we are excited to continue. "Ultimately, the Big Ten is the best home for USC and Trojan athletics as we move into the new world of collegiate sports," Athletic Director Mike Bohn said. We have worked hard over the past three years to ground university decisions in what is best for our students. The enhanced resources from this move will enable additional support for our student-athletes as well as benefit initiatives surrounding academics, accessibility and affordability. This decision was made after serious deliberation and analysis, and with great appreciation and respect for our Pac-12 colleagues with whom we have enjoyed a wonderful history and relationship.

For the Terps, this adds another dimension of immense difficulty in the football program's hopes to become competitive in what is a top-two conference in the ...

“As the national leader in academics and athletics for over 126 years, the Big Ten Conference has historically evaluated its membership with the collective goal to forward the academic and athletic mission for student-athletes under the umbrella of higher education,” Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren said in Thursday’s release. Jon Wilner of the Mercury News suggested that the addition of these Californian schools could lead to Big Ten member institutions earning upwards of $100 million annually in media rights. In a sudden move, UCLA and USC will join the Big Ten Conference starting in the 2024-25 school year, the conference and schools announced Thursday.

This week's announcement was understandable given the state of college football TV contracts and the SEC's own bold move last summer.

“Something was going to happen to combat the Texas and Oklahoma move,” one Big Ten source says. And maybe the Big Ten isn’t finished expanding. Many in the Pac-12 were caught off guard, similarly to those in the Big 12 last July. The Pac-12 statement expressed “surprise and disappointment.” Sources said there was a Pac-12 athletic directors meeting Wednesday, and neither UCLA nor USC tipped its hand. Big Ten officials will review and study options, but nothing is expected soon or is imminent. One Pac-12 administrator says they couldn’t believe the University of California state system would allow the Bruins to bolt and leave its brethren in Berkeley behind. The league has been public about its interest in adding Notre Dame on a full-time basis. “This is a sea change,” says an administrator in the Big 12. During a conversation in early May, Warren said that the conference’s new TV deal would be announced around Memorial Day. In early June, a Big Ten source said the deal was being delayed until July or potentially August. The Big Ten is expanding. For the Big Ten, it was an easy decision. Apple reengaged with the league after Thursday’s news, according to Sports Business Journal. The Pac-12 is scrambling.

USC and UCLA shook up the college sports landscape by announcing their departures for the Big Ten. Here's everything you need to know about their moves.

The NCAA has issued guidelines for schools, but boosters like Miami’s John Ruiz aren’t worried. USC’s fever dream: At the Trojans’ spring game, minds long addled with college football might struggle to remember where all of the players and coaches used to be. Conference shakeup: The ground beneath college sports took its most disfiguring shake to date as Southern California and UCLA announced they are leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten.

"The 10 university presidents and chancellors remain committed to a shared mission of academic and athletic excellence on behalf of our student-athletes," the ...

The Big Ten presidents and chancellors voted unanimously on Thursday to add USC and UCLA to the conference, starting on Aug. 2, 2024. "We have a long and storied history in athletics, academics, and leadership in supporting student-athletes that we're confident will continue to thrive and grow into the future," the Pac-12 said in its statement. One source in the conference told ESPN on Friday "it's wide open" as far as who the Pac-12 would consider inviting, but added the Big 12 and ACC are worth exploring.

College sports preach shared values. Honesty doesn't seem to be one of them.

The money will continue to roll in, and schools will continue to jump from conference to conference whenever someone is willing to write a bigger check. And so, this is what we have in college athletics: just two football leagues that matter on the national stage. Don’t be surprised if one of the Power Two leagues tries to poach Clemson and Florida State from the ACC or goes after Oregon and Washington. The Pac-12 could be back to its original name, the Pac-6, in no time. And neither is the infuriating hypocrisy. Many people have expressed shock at the UCLA-USC migration, especially now that this one conference will stretch from Rutgers and Maryland on the East Coast to the L.A. schools near the Pacific Ocean. But we should be way past being shocked by anything that goes on in college athletics. At least when Maryland abandoned the ACC to join the Big Ten, the school’s leadership was honest, admitting they were broke and needed the television money the Big Ten was offering. Forget the Power Five; they are now the Power Two. Just as the golfers are actually trying to grow their bank accounts, the college administrators are motivated by the welfare of their bottom lines. The Big Ten has lots more of it than the Pac-12.” You can bet their facilities will receive upgrades to help with recruiting as soon as the first Rich Sixteen check arrives. And then, there was the time-honored phrase that should cause anyone hearing or reading it to hold on tight to their wallets: “Student-athletes.” In this case, what’s offensive about the use of the phrase isn’t its redundancy.

USC and Notre Dame are one of the oldest rivalries in college football. Is the game in danger?

One, is that Notre Dame has a lucrative contract with NBC to show its home games. That includes the last four straight in Notre Dame's favor. "The storied football rivalry began in 1926 and will continue with USC in the Big Ten. A lot will obviously change with USC leaving the Pac-12 but the Trojans will still play UCLA and Notre Dame every season."