Report: Big Ten set to dwarf the SEC with UCLA, USC conference expansion moves
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The Big Ten could be chasing the stars, with a report on Thursday afternoon that the conference is exploring the possibility of adding UCLA and USC.
Multiple reports on Thursday indicate that the Big Ten could be close to adding the two Pac-12 programs. The move would be not just a shot in the latest jockeying amid a conference expansion frenzy but nothing short of a bomb.
Were the Big Ten to add UCLA and USC, the conference would have colleges located in the top four media markets in the nation. New York (via Rutgers), as well as Philadelphia (Penn State and Rutgers in southern New Jersey) and Chicago (Northwestern), would make the conference a juggernaut in terms of television ratings and media negotiations.
Los Angeles is the second-largest media market in the country after New York.
From a revenue point of view, potentially adding UCLA and USC would keep the Big Ten equal in the conference expansion war with the SEC. The SEC will be adding Oklahoma and Texas in 2024.
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The last time the Big Ten expanded was the addition of Maryland and Rutgers in 2014.
The next round of television revenue could potentially net the Big Ten over $1 billion a year in revenue.
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The addition of UCLA and USC would firmly stamp the Big Ten in the second-largest market in the nation. It is a move that will only enhance the Big Ten in terms of bringing in revenue in the never-ending arms race that is college sports.