USC and UCLA are in advanced talks to leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten as early as 2024, confirmed Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic. Big Ten presidents and athletic directors held a meeting last night on the subject, and an announcement could arrive as early as today, and schools are expected to submit formal paperwork Thursday, according to a source. Pac-12 journalist Jon Wilner reported for the first time that the two schools were scheduled to leave as early as 2024, but that the measure “has not materialized at the highest levels of power.”
Several sources told Bruce Feldman of The Athletic that the two Pac-12 schools were the ones who contacted the Big Ten about a move.
The Big Ten is currently in negotiations over its next media rights deal. Its existing agreements with ESPN and Fox will take place during the next academic year, 2022-23. Current Pac-12 members have been together since 2011, when Colorado and Utah joined the league from the Big 12 and Mountain West, respectively. Prior to that, the last changes to membership were the addition of Arizona and Arizona State in 1978.
If the moves occur, it would mark the second consecutive summer that the surprise realignment of football’s blue blood causes a seismic shift in the college sports landscape. Last July, Texas and Oklahoma announced they would join the SEC.
This is a developing story. More to come.
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(Photo: Richard Mackson / USA Today)