LOOK: Lincoln Riley expresses excitement for USC's move to the Big Ten
On Thursday night, the news became official that the USC Trojans and the UCLA Bruins were officially leaving the Pac-12 Conference and moving to the Big Ten Conference in 2024. Conference realignment is once again a hot topic across the college athletics landscape and Riley expressed excitement about the Trojans move to the Big Ten via his Twitter page on Thursday night after the news became official.
USC and UCLA are not only two of the Pac-12’s most successful schools across athletics, but are two of the largest brands in the country which offer a new market opportunity for the Big Ten. While they fall far outside the current geographic landscape of the conference, the move promises to provide great financial benefit for all parties.
The move could serve as the next major domino to fall in conference realignment after Texas and Oklahoma announced their intention to join the SEC by 2025. As conference commissioners failed to come to a resolution on a College Football Playoff format last year, the race to stockpile blue-blood programs together seems to be heating up, with some believing super conferences are on the horizon.
Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger added that “teams are jockeying” to gain membership in the Big Ten and SEC. The move promises to set off more talks and more negotiations across college football as the moves of Texas and Oklahoma did last summer.
More about USC, UCLA and the Big Ten
USC and UCLA have been members of the same conference, while under many different names throughout the years, since the late 1920s. Over the years in what became the Pac-12, the city rivals have established themselves as two of the biggest brands in sports while dominating the Los Angeles – and by extension the West Coast market.
The move to the Big Ten will unite the two programs with football powerhouse programs like Ohio State and Michigan, in addition to multiple perennial Top 25 programs across multiple sports which make up the remainder of the conference’s 14-team membership.
More reporting by Jon Wilner has indicated that the Big Ten may not be done adding the fold as other Pac-12 teams scramble to find their next move.
On3’s James Fletcher III also contributed to this article.