‘It’s a sign of the times’: Kirk Ferentz shares thoughts on the Big Ten’s USC, UCLA additions

Iowa Hawkeyes head football coach Kirk Ferentz said “it’s a sign of the times” that the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins are joining the Big Ten.

As Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz was meeting with the media discussing the brand new Iowa Swarm Collective, the topic of Big Ten expansion naturally came up.

With Hawk Central and other Iowa reporters in attendance, Ferentz dove into his thoughts on the Big Ten adding both the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins beginning with the 2024-25 college athletics season.

“Yeah, it’s a sign of the times. Just it’s one more reminder that tradition, the sense or concept of tradition is kind of getting minimalized I think in college athletics. Pretty much everything’s driven by TV. There are a lot of things I can’t tell you after 23 years. How the NCAA works, all that stuff. One thing I have observed is if TV wants something, it’s probably going to happen. I’m not saying TV encouraged this. I’m just suggesting that there’s some certainly, I’m sure that’s part on the minds of the people who joined the conference, but it puts us in a better, stronger position,” Ferentz said.

Again, as Ferentz stood and discussed what this new Iowa Swarm Collective would mean for his program going forward, the conversation circled back into USC and UCLA joining the Big Ten.

“It’s really not a matter of do we like this or did we want this? It’s just a matter of that’s a reality of college football, college athletics. Just like it’s a reality that USC and UCLA are going to be in the Big Ten in two years, so whether you like that, whatever your opinion may be, the bigger picture is it’s going to be. It’s just part of the times that we’re navigating through right now,” Ferentz said of Iowa Swarm Collective and USC and UCLA joining the league.

Iowa head men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery was in attendance for the Iowa Swarm Collective announcement as well and shared his thoughts on USC and UCLA joining the Big Ten.

“Obviously, a credit to Kevin Warren for getting two of the most prestigious programs in the country to come to our league. I think anything that benefits the league is a good thing,” McCaffery said of the pair joining.

He didn’t seem too concerned with future setups of the Big Ten Tournament either.

“You know, I think there’s always a solution you can find for any situation like that. You know, we can make it work, scheduling wise,” McCaffery said.

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