UCLA Regents OK move to Big Ten Conference in 2024
The UC regents approved UCLA's decision to move from the Pac-12 Conference to the Big Ten Conference in 2024. The decision came Wednesday after months of discussions and legal considerations since both UCLA and USC announced in June their intentions to move athletic conferences in 2024.
UCLA and USC both stand to see a major boost in revenue from media rights and increased national exposure for their athletes with a move to the Big Ten, which will become a coast-to-coast conference including some of the nation's most prominent athletic programs.
In exchange for its approval of the move, the board is requiring that the university makes a multimillion-dollar donation to UC Berkeley to support that school's athletics. The contribution could range from $2 million to $10 million, as determined by the board, "to enhance student-athlete support at that campus."
In a statement released after the vote, UCLA Athletic Director Martin Jarmond thanked the board for its discussions on the matter. "We're excited to join the Big Ten Conference in 2024 and are grateful for the Board of Regents' thoughtful engagement in this decision," he said. "We've always been guided by what is best for our 25 teams and more than 700 student-athletes, and the Big Ten offers exciting new competitive opportunities on a bigger national media platform for our student-athletes to compete and showcase their talent."
At a previous board meeting this year, UCLA Chancellor Gene Block defended the university's decision to shift conferences, saying he believes it will benefit athletes and the school.
Block said college athletics is in a "volatile" period, thanks to factors such as conference realignments, student-athlete transfers and new rules allowing athletes to profit from "name, image and likeness" contracts.
He said the university also recognized that it will need to invest additional financial resources to maintain its athletics programs.
"We have a storied tradition of outstanding athletics ... and we want to maintain that tradition of outstanding opportunities for our students," he told the board.
Given the financial and career opportunities available for college athletes, "our students were asking for better national exposure," Block said. "They've been frustrated sometimes about the exposure they're getting currently," he said.
"The national platform -- being in a conference that competed nationally would give them better exposure. So I think our student-athletes overall have been excited about the opportunity to compete with the very best teams. So I think that competitive excellence was a big part of this."... In the end we decided this was the best move for UCLA," he said.
The agreement approved by the Board of Regents Wednesday included a series of requirements for UCLA, in addition to the UC Berkeley payment. The requirements include the implementation of annual plans to mitigate travel impacts on student-athletes, increased educational, mental health and nutritional support for athletes, an annual survey of athletes to ensure the adequacy of university services being offered to them, and the establishment of a $2.5 million "reserve fund" to be used if funding for athlete services falls short in any area.