There was no doubt that the decision by USC and UCLA on Thursday to leave the PAC-12 for the Big-10 conference was motivated by money, but a new report has the actual figures the schools could make from switching leagues, and it’s astronomical.
Thursday, much of the sports world was stunned when it was revealed that two of the biggest West Coast universities in college athletics were taking their programs to the powerhouse conference of the midwest and east, the Big Ten.
At first, the news was just rumblings and hearsay. However, things quickly became a reality when it was confirmed that both schools had officially applied to join the conference in 2024 and that their applications had been accepted. What made it all the more stunning was the reveal that the two schools were the ones who initiated the move, not the Big Ten.
With UCLA and USC, the Big tEn is now on the verge of a billion-dollar TV deal
Well, while competition level certainly played a factor in those storied sports programs' decision to leave the PAC-12, in the end, huge sums of cold hard cash were a major influence on the move.
On a Friday edition of “First Take,” ESPN senior writer Heather Dinich reported that the two schools stand to make an extra nine figures a year by joining the Big Ten as it becomes a serious rival to the goliath that is the SEC. And it seems the college world is watching it all very closely.
“Every athletic director and university president from coast to coast is watching as the Big-10 and SEC separate themselves as the largest and wealthiest conferences in the country. The Big-10 is on the brink of what is reportedly going to be a billion-dollar TV deal that could pay its schools upwards of $100 million annually per school. So for USC and UCLA, this is about following the money and best positioning not only their football programs but their Olympic sports programs financially for the future … UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond texted me last night and he said we can not afford to stand still.”
Heather Dinich on UCLA and USC moving to big-10
In 2020, the SEC left their previous broadcast home of CBS to sign a $3 billion deal with ESPN that will begin in 2024.
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