What with Russia’s onslaught on Ukraine, the Supreme Court’s onslaught on liberality, the GOP’s onslaught on truth and democracy and the never-ending onslaught of senseless gun violence, last month gave new meaning to the term June gloom. For many of us, sport remains a great escape from all that. A salve. And then on June 30 came the kicker: USC and UCLA would depart the Pac-12 Conference for the Big Ten in 2024.
“That can’t be right, ” I texted a friend and fellow UCLA fan. “No way.”
Then the Times confirmed it. Way.
Just like that, some 100 years of tradition — a word used a lot by both universities — was out the window, essentially destroying the Pac-12 for the other 10 member universities, including UCLA’s big sister, Cal. No more regular, meaningful competition with Stanford, Oregon and Washington, Utah or the Arizona schools. Really?
What in the names of Tommy Trojan and the gutty little Bruins is anyone thinking? Who benefits here?
The powers that be, namely, USC and UCLA’s respective athletic directors, Mike Bohn and Martin Jarmond, claim the move will provide “student athletes” with better start times for football games and thus more national TV exposure.
Sure, West Coast teams have always suffered a bit from what in the east are late start times, but no one ever suggested this was a life-or-death situation, one worth ditching your conference over. Not to mention forcing student athletes to take absurdly long flights to games, meaning more hotel rooms, more time spent away from campus and academics — remember them?
As for the fans, what fans? Trojan and Bruin fans may be scattered everywhere, but the vast majority are in Southern California. Who among them is going to fly to New Jersey for a Rutgers football game, let alone a swim meet or a gymnastics competition? Maybe those few boosters who have private jets, that’s who.
Welcome to yet another episode of “Follow the Money,” this one all about the millions the Big Ten’s TV deal allows it to parcel out among its member schools annually. By one estimate, the deal could be worth $1 billion in 2024, with a per-school take of more than $60 million on average. As opposed to a little more than $30 million offered by the Pac-12 in the last year before the pandemic. That extra $30 million-plus is a lot of “resources,” as Jarmond put it, and UCLA…