University of California Board of Regents meets to discuss UCLA joining Big Ten

The University of California Board of Regents discussed a report on possible impacts of UCLA joining the Big Ten.

Jaysha Patel Image
Thursday, August 18, 2022
University of California Board of Regents talks about UCLA, Big Ten
The University of California Board of Regents discussed a report on possible impacts of UCLA joining the Big Ten.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (KABC) -- The University of California Los Angeles and the University of Southern California will be leaving Pac-12 to join the Big Ten in 2024.

On Wednesday, the University Of California Board Of Regents met at UCLA to discuss a report from UC President Michael Drake and his staff on possible impacts.

"We asked the campuses about the impact of UCLA moving to the Big Ten. For seven of our campuses, they indicated there would be little or no impact to them. The primary impact is to Berkeley and UCLA. Those are the campuses that have the largest amount of athletes, the largest number of athletic teams and are both in the Pac-12," said Pamela Brown, vice president for institutional research and academic planning at the University of California Office of the President.

The board discussed how the move would affect athlete travel, competition schedules and academic support.

Students said they could receive more funding for the Olympics and have more competition and tournaments, but they also had concerns.

"There are concerns about the increased amount of time that might be spent on travel for those particularly using commercial flights as it is now," Brown said.

The move to the Big Ten could potentially bring in more television revenue helping more sports.

The board also noted there could be a major benefit for student athletes obtaining more name, image and likeness deals.

"It's going to impact where we go for the next couple years for sure because student athletes are going to be competing in different conferences, with different levels and different teams that they haven't competed with in a long time. So, I think it's going to shake us up in term of rank, but also a good challenge for our new students," said Isaiah Mateas, a student at UCLA.

While this is a new report, more research will have to be done to answer the board's questions about impacts on all sports.

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