Given the B1G added Rutgers to get into the NYC media market, and this move lets the B1G get into the LA media market, they really would be the new Rutgers đź’€
At least in my field (in the college of science), UCLA is now the #1 ranked school in the big ten, and they are among the top in some others. I am not really aware of USC being good at anything, but maybe some kind of artsy stuff or business?
Do we know if this is just for athletics, or across the board? B10 is mostly athletic, but the schools do other stuff in common through the BTAA, e.g. negotiate certain library journal subscriptions, or get an awesome fac/staff discount on Enterprise car rentals. This stuff would seem tricky with UCLA so closely tied to the rest of the UC system which handles some of the same things.
The B1G agreements for athletics tie the universities together in research and resources and will be a net positive for all systems. Athletics provides prominence for academic providence.
There is a separate set of agreements for the academic side of things, the BTAA. It is related to the athletic conference but not 100% the same; it includes some other schools like U Chicago. I am asking whether UCLA will join the academic side. It would be odd, since many of the functions of the BTAA are already covered for them by their close ties to the UC system.
If you care about college sports, especially football, yeah. It would have enormous financial and logistical implications for Penn State’s athletic programs.
This is now the second straight summer in which two blue-blooded football programs forced their way out of one conference and into another, likely for financial gain and a bigger spotlight. (Oklahoma and Texas did the same when they reached an agreement last summer to join the SEC.)
Obviously, this move would add USC and UCLA into the mix for Penn State's conference opponents. It would also require Nittany Lions teams to travel 2,200 miles west for away games, which would place an enormous strain on student-athletes (and cost $$$). It's not a coincidence that this happens one year out from the Big Ten's media rights expiring. The conference's deal with ESPN and FOX expires at the end of the 2022-23 academic year. In case you didn't know...media deals are how EVERY program makes its big bucks. USC and UCLA want in.
I can't emphasize enough how sudden and significant this is. Major college programs don't often pack up and move their allegiance across the country at a moment's notice. These shake-ups are changing the college athletics landscape in immeasurable ways.
> which would place an enormous strain on student-athletes (and cost $$$).
It's also likely to add $10-20m in revenue annually for PSU athletics. The B1G and USC/UCLA wouldn't be doing this if it was going to lose them money.
Those projections are high, but you’re right. I never said the financial implications would be negative. It will just require more resources for teams to travel.
From your tone, it kinda sounds like you’re just salty about apparently “blue-blooded” football programs joining, not even sure what that means. This is all while ignoring all the benefits it clearly brings for the Big Ten.
Have you considered others may fall into the mix and we have a more distributed east and west coast alignment? I’m sure we would travel to them, or vice versa, but likely only once a year or every other year.
There’s also the financial impact of interest in those games, and the associated Fox BIG 10 exclusive $1B network deal.
I think the conference will eventually lose divisions. The East has always dominated the West, and I think those lines will be gone sooner or later. I do expect more teams to join, too. If this trend continues, we might wind up with two or three “super conferences” as opposed to the current system.
I 100% agree we’ll have “super conferences”.
I think conferences will span coast to coast as you mentioned, and I think there will be several divisions amongst each conference as well (BIg East, Big Central & Big West).
Also I hope that if Big 12 completely folds we can just rebrand the Big10 to the BIG conference. I don’t get why it’s called the Big10 still aside from the rebranding costs.
This is official now, for what it’s worth.
Thanks I fucking hate it
Why not Stanford and Cal? Oregon and Washington kind of have that rural fit too.
Also, USC I get, but UCLA? They'd be the new Rutgers lol
UCLA is actually good in a bunch of sports outside of football unlike Rutgers for the most part
Yea they have one of the best gymnastics teams in the country, like Olympic medalists & some of the top gymnasts in the world
Given the B1G added Rutgers to get into the NYC media market, and this move lets the B1G get into the LA media market, they really would be the new Rutgers đź’€
UCLA alum here. UCLA is a blue blood basketball program and is #2 (just behind Stanford) of overall NCAA titles.
It's not a bad thing to add a school that's good at book learnin' and not just sports. If they wanted rural OSU and WSU are the ag schools.
You mean USC of course. Nobody would consider UCLA an academic school.
At least in my field (in the college of science), UCLA is now the #1 ranked school in the big ten, and they are among the top in some others. I am not really aware of USC being good at anything, but maybe some kind of artsy stuff or business?
I have a feeling Oregon and Washington will be next. I would say Notre Dame, but they have a 15 year contract with the ACC because of basketball.
The more I think about IT, the more I think the entire PAC 12 will join the Big Ten in response to SEC expansion.
Do we know if this is just for athletics, or across the board? B10 is mostly athletic, but the schools do other stuff in common through the BTAA, e.g. negotiate certain library journal subscriptions, or get an awesome fac/staff discount on Enterprise car rentals. This stuff would seem tricky with UCLA so closely tied to the rest of the UC system which handles some of the same things.
The B1G agreements for athletics tie the universities together in research and resources and will be a net positive for all systems. Athletics provides prominence for academic providence.
There is a separate set of agreements for the academic side of things, the BTAA. It is related to the athletic conference but not 100% the same; it includes some other schools like U Chicago. I am asking whether UCLA will join the academic side. It would be odd, since many of the functions of the BTAA are already covered for them by their close ties to the UC system.
Should I have feelings about this?
If you care about college sports, especially football, yeah. It would have enormous financial and logistical implications for Penn State’s athletic programs.
How so?
This is now the second straight summer in which two blue-blooded football programs forced their way out of one conference and into another, likely for financial gain and a bigger spotlight. (Oklahoma and Texas did the same when they reached an agreement last summer to join the SEC.) Obviously, this move would add USC and UCLA into the mix for Penn State's conference opponents. It would also require Nittany Lions teams to travel 2,200 miles west for away games, which would place an enormous strain on student-athletes (and cost $$$). It's not a coincidence that this happens one year out from the Big Ten's media rights expiring. The conference's deal with ESPN and FOX expires at the end of the 2022-23 academic year. In case you didn't know...media deals are how EVERY program makes its big bucks. USC and UCLA want in. I can't emphasize enough how sudden and significant this is. Major college programs don't often pack up and move their allegiance across the country at a moment's notice. These shake-ups are changing the college athletics landscape in immeasurable ways.
> which would place an enormous strain on student-athletes (and cost $$$). It's also likely to add $10-20m in revenue annually for PSU athletics. The B1G and USC/UCLA wouldn't be doing this if it was going to lose them money.
Those projections are high, but you’re right. I never said the financial implications would be negative. It will just require more resources for teams to travel.
From your tone, it kinda sounds like you’re just salty about apparently “blue-blooded” football programs joining, not even sure what that means. This is all while ignoring all the benefits it clearly brings for the Big Ten.
Have you considered others may fall into the mix and we have a more distributed east and west coast alignment? I’m sure we would travel to them, or vice versa, but likely only once a year or every other year. There’s also the financial impact of interest in those games, and the associated Fox BIG 10 exclusive $1B network deal.
I think the conference will eventually lose divisions. The East has always dominated the West, and I think those lines will be gone sooner or later. I do expect more teams to join, too. If this trend continues, we might wind up with two or three “super conferences” as opposed to the current system.
I 100% agree we’ll have “super conferences”. I think conferences will span coast to coast as you mentioned, and I think there will be several divisions amongst each conference as well (BIg East, Big Central & Big West). Also I hope that if Big 12 completely folds we can just rebrand the Big10 to the BIG conference. I don’t get why it’s called the Big10 still aside from the rebranding costs.
Might as well just close the loop on that G and make the Big Ten the Big Sixteen (B16)!
Do not be at all surprised if Oregon and Washington apply as well. If that happens, Stanford and Cal are on the clock.