As they say, conference realignment never sleeps. USC and UCLA are planning to move to the Big Ten as early as 2024. Things seemed to be looking up for the Pac-12, but if this move is indeed going to happen, this is going to be a huge loss.
All of a sudden, Oregon is looking very lonely as the only truly nationally recognized brand remaining in the Pac-12. There are a few outcomes that could play out in response to a UCLA-USC move, but Oregon following suit and leaving the conference for, say, the Big 12 could be a possibility.
Jon Wilner broke the news of the move first.
Source: USC and UCLA are planning to leave for the Big Ten as early as 2024. Move *has not been finalized* at the highest levels of power.
— Jon Wilner (@wilnerhotline) June 30, 2022
Funnily enough, the Big Ten media rights are owned by Fox and ESPN owns the SEC media rights. Funny how this played out, isn’t it?
The Big 10 will end up stretching from sea to shining sea from Rutgers and Maryland all the way to USC and UCLA.
For football, that may not seem like an issue, nor should it be. NFL teams go across the country all the time. However, for sports such as baseball, basketball, and softball, this could end up being an issue with how many games they play in a season. Or maybe it won’t, surely they’ve thought of this.
A popular theory among Sooners fans is that Lincoln Riley left OU because he was scared of the SEC. The Big 10 isn’t the SEC, but it’s much more competitive than the Big 12 and Pac-12. We will see soon enough if Riley can handle not being the biggest fish in the pond.
Can we change the Big 10’s name now?
[listicle id=53548]
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.