Last year, the college athletic landscape was seismically reshaped when Texas and Oklahoma decided to abandon the Big 12 Conference for the SEC. Flash forward a little more than a year after those events and the college landscape could be getting remade yet again. USC and UCLA, both blue-chip athletic programs in Southern California look poised to exit the Pac-12 conference and head to the Big Ten by 2024.
The news trickled out over Twitter Thursday first by Pac-12 reporter Jon Wilner.
The move while surprising seems to be moving quickly. Sports Illustrated Ross Dellenger reports that the Big Ten school presidents are expected to vote both the Trojans and Bruins into the conference as early as tonight.
If the Big Ten allows both schools in, the conference will jump from 14 member schools to 16 and some reporters have hinted the conference might not be done. Meanwhile, the Pac-12 will drop back to 10 and include only two schools in the state of California: Stanford and Cal-Berkley.
While there is yet to be a clear reason for both schools to leave, but it’s believed to involve the Big Ten Conferences media rights deal and the amount of revenue member schools could earn.
What’s On Tap Next?
While nothing is final yet, the move would place the Big Ten and the SEC in leagues of their own in terms of conference strength compared to the ACC and Big 12.
The questions regarding TV scheduling, conference division realignments and bowl appearances would follow the announcement.
One unknown for fans of college bowl season though is looming. Will the Rose Bowl game still be contested between the Big Ten and Pac-12?
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