Pros and Cons of the Big Ten Adding USC and UCLA

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Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

Thursday was a major day in the history of the Big Ten conference as they announced the arrival of the University of Southern California and UCLA to the Big Ten starting in 2024. Like all things in life there are pros and cons of this move. Some are obvious, others are not. After sleeping on things, here is my pros and cons list of this move.

NOTE: I am writing this as if there will be no other moves right now, but I don’t anticipate that this is the only move the Big Ten will make.

Let’s start with the pros, because overall I believe this is a move that will help IU football and the school’s athletic program in general.

PROS

  • Massive TV Deal- The Big Ten was likely to make in access of $1 Billion a year with their upcoming TV deal, that number is going to be much north of that with each school bringing in $100 million. That is nearly double what IU brings in now. However, how IU chooses to spend this money will be key. Do they use it to upgrade the football facilities or put it in other places. The football program needs major upgrades to their indoor facility as well as to Memorial Stadium’s press box.

  • Re-alignment is Coming- IU football fans have been begging to get out of the Big Ten East. This move more than likely has the Big Ten create new pods or divisions. Especially if they add four more teams. So, woohoo.

  • IU to the Rose Bowl!- Well not exactly THE Rose Bowl, but the Hoosiers will play UCLA at the Rose Bowl at some point. It’s a bucket list trip for Hoosier fans and is now going to happen so start your travel fund now.

  • New Opponents at Memorial Stadium- How cool will it be to see USC and UCLA at Memorial Stadium? While it may not be an annual event, when these teams come to town it’ll be a huge deal. Oh and UCLA playing at Assembly Hall could be pretty special as well.

  • Opening of New Recruiting Areas- While IU has had some recruiting success in California before, this move will make sure that ALL Big Ten games are on TV in the LA Markets, which means players’ families can watch the games on TV. Also, they have more of a chance to see them play in their home area (depending on schedules).

  • Warm Weather Hub For Spring Sports- Baseball and softball should be helped out as well with another option to play games in warm weather in the early spring. There are a lot of options here, but I’ll let the ADs figure that out.

CONS

  • Fan Travel- This is the major downside to this move. Travel has become so cost prohibative that, while fans will want to travel to California for a football or basketball game, they won’t be able to make the trip. It’ll go both ways too. If you are a UCLA or USC fan are you really breaking the bank to see IUFB or are you saving money to go to Michigan, Ohio State or Penn State? This move likely also means a move out of Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship Game and the Big Ten Tournament. If both are held in LA it’ll make it harder for the midwest. fans base to make the trip out.

  • Rivalries Gone?- The Big Ten takes its rivalries very seriously and adding at least two more could put many regional rivalries in jeopardy of not being played on an annual basis. It stinks, but that is what is happening in all of college sports right now. However, USC has a rivalry with Ohio State in football and IU-UCLA could develop into a nice rivalry in basketball. It’ll be interesting how they will schedule the football side of things to keep the natural rivalries together. (I do have a plan for a schedule I’ll share later).

  • Media Travel- While no one is going to feel bad for the media who get to cover Big Ten sports, it’s a cool gig not going to lie, the travel may impact on what the media can bring to fans. As a small, independent site traveling to games is based on a very tight budget. While one can cover the game from the couch, it is after the game that being present gives an advantage. This could change the way sites cover IUFB. Also, if they move Media Days out to LA during a year IU is playing a football game out west make budgeting difficult. Alright, enough of my pity party.

  • Clearly Greed Motivated- While this was the smart move for the conference, it is clearly motivated by greed and money and that makes the fans feel dirty. USC, UCLA and all the Big Ten PR departments can say what they want, but this was 100-percent a major money move.

If you have any other pros or cons on this move feel free to add them in the comments section below. We’ll have all the conference expansion news covered as information comes out as well.