Paul Finebaum on Big Ten acquisition of USC, UCLA: 'This is about money'

USC and UCLA changed the playing field in college athletics yesterday with their decision to switch conferences. Their change from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten could go through as early as 2024. Along with the move, the two schools would stand to cash in big on the new TV deal in the Big Ten. To ESPN’s Paul Finebaum, that is the only thing that matters in this decision.

Finebaum appeared on ESPN’s Get Up this morning to talk about the move. He says it’s just the latest decision in the college sports world that comes down solely to where schools can profit the most.

“What we have is just a battle of the two behemoths and that’s the SEC and the Big Ten. This is similar to what’s going on Wall Street between the biggest companies vying for your dollar. That’s what this is about. This is about money. Pure and simple,” said Finebaum. “Don’t let any college commissioner or president tell you otherwise. They’re a greedy bunch. That’s what they care about and the students who happen to play athletics are the pawn in this big prize.”

The sentiment is that the two schools could make double the revenue in the Big Ten than they were making in the Pac-12. The Big Ten’s next TV deal was already slated to be lucrative. Add in two of the Pac-12’s biggest brands and projections shoot to a $100 million pay day for the member schools. Those kinds of numbers and profits are especially impossible to ignore.

Finebaum believes it is a decision rooted in greed. While the move would greatly benefit their schools monetarily, it can certainly be argued that this move may not be best for their student athletes. The idea of travel between southern California to the Big Ten geographically is tough to wrap your head around. To Finebaum, though, he sees that the repercussions don’t matter because of the check they’ll cash from it.

“I’m just grateful that the leaders of college athletics care so much about the student athletes and their mental well-being that they’re going to put softball players on a plane in California and go to Piscataway for a weekend series with Rutgers,” Finebaum said. “That’s where we are. (I’m) trying to take my cynical hat off, which is impossible today in college athletics.”

USC and UCLA were eventually placed between a rock and a hard place with this decision. While they could have remained out west, the college athletics arm race is happening across the country. Texas and Oklahoma were first with their move to the SEC. The Trojans and Bruins are just the next domino to fall with their Big Ten decision. This may very well only be the beginning and more schools will follow behind to these ‘super conferences’. In every move, though, you can bet that nearly every one will come down to a call grounded in monetary motivation.