UCLA, USC in talks to join Big Ten in 2024

Southern California and UCLA are in negotiations to leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten, multiple people with knowledge of the deliberations told USA TODAY Sports. The people were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing negotiations.

The two schools reached out to the Big Ten and were not pursued. 

The move would come as soon as 2024, after the Pac-12’s current media rights contracts with Fox and ESPN expire. The Big Ten would become the first conference to stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific and would build on previous expansion into the nation’s largest media markets.

USC and UCLA are the two dominant brands in the Pac-12 and the largest and most successful athletics departments on the West Coast.

Losing the two schools to the Big Ten would be devastating for the Pac-12 and could lead to another round of conference realignment impacting every league in the Power Five.

Adding the two schools would bring the Big Ten membership to 16, equaling the number of schools set to be in the SEC once Texas and Oklahoma join the conference from the Big 12 in 2025.

The Big Ten has expanded twice in recent years, with Nebraska joining in 2011 and Maryland and Rutgers in 2014.

The addition would expand the league’s footprint well beyond its traditional Midwest roots and create the first Football Bowl Subdivision “super conference” constructed largely without regard for geography.

The Big Ten is currently negotiating a new television rights deal that is expected to be the most lucrative in NCAA history.

The move to the Big Ten would greatly enhance USC and UCLA’s revenues.

The Pac-12 distributed only $19.8 million per school in fiscal year 2021, by far the least among Power Five conferences. The Big Ten’s per-school distribution was $46.1 million, second only to the Southeastern Conference’s $54.6 million.

The Pac-12 has had difficulty getting its conference television network untracked while the Big Ten Network is the most established of the conference networks.

USC and UCLA would be taking a step up in football, both in visibility and competition.

Contributing: Associated Press

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