USC and UCLA Set to Join the Big 10 in 2024

Per Jon Wilner of the PAC 12, USC and UCLA are both in talks to join the Big 10 conference beginning in 2024.

This only confirms the rumors that have been swirling the last few weeks of this eventual conference change. While these two will assuredly not be the last to leave this conference, they were largely the universities holding it together. Success on the football field is a different conversation but this move is more than just football. Its an ever changing landscape in CFB and it appears we are moving even closer to a format of 2 or 3 power conferences instead of 5. There are clear benefits here across multiple sports with such prestige, however I have to wonder how the geography of a move like this can work in the Big Ten. Maryland and Rutgers had the same concerns and the Cali couple have much more to offer, but you have to feel for the parents who may still miss half the games of their child because away games will be halfway across the country. This move is clearly financial for both conference and universities, but with the recent moves from the SEC and the Big Ten currently negotiating the new TV contract, there was always a concern a big move would be made for leverage. It looks like we are heading for a public battle of leverage between the Big Ten and SEC conferences. This is football nowadays, we may as well adjust. Look for more thoughts in the near future on how we can expect dominoes to fall in response to a report like this.