Pac 12-Big 10 Merger 2024: Throwback post: Big Ten Announces 2024-25 Men's Basketball Conference Opponents

from uclabruins.com

May 01 2024

LOS ANGELES – The UCLA men's basketball Big Ten Conference schedule for the 2024-25 season will include 20 league games, with the Bruins playing 14 opponents once and facing three opponents for two games, as announced by the Big Ten office on Wednesday.
 
UCLA will take on crosstown rival USC, as well as Oregon and Washington, for two games each (referred to as two-plays). Those matchup pairs will include one road game and one home game.
 
The Bruins will face the league's other 14 teams for one game – seven of those at home, and seven contests on the road. From that grouping, UCLA's home contests will include visits from Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin. The Bruins' road contests will include Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue and Rutgers.
 
The complete Big Ten men's basketball schedule will not be finalized until the fall (featuring game dates, times and television designations). The 2024-25 season will mark UCLA's first year competing in the Big Ten Conference. UCLA's nonconference games for the upcoming season will be announced at a later date.
 
TICKET INFORMATION: UCLA's season ticket packages for the 2024-25 men's basketball campaign are now available. Fans can purchase new season tickets before Friday, May 24, to secure 2023-24 pricing for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons, a $50 account credit per season ticket purchased, and enrollment in auto-renewal. Call the UCLA Athletic Sales & Service office for more information about men's basketball tickets at (310) 206-5991 or via email at tickets@athletics.ucla.edu.
 
BIG TEN BREAKDOWN: UCLA's 10 home games in league play next season will include (listed in alphabetical order) Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, USC, Washington and Wisconsin.
 
The Bruins' 10 road contests in conference play will include (alphabetical order) Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Nebraska, Northwestern, Oregon, Purdue, Rutgers, USC and Washington.
 
HOME GAMES: Aside from games against recent Pac-12 programs – Oregon, USC and Washington – next season's home slate will feature visits from Big Ten schools that have not played in Pauley Pavilion in many years. UCLA has hosted home-and-home series with Michigan (2016, 2017) and Michigan State (2003, 2004) within the past 25 seasons. Outside of those two schools, Iowa will be making its first trip to Pauley Pavilion since 1990, while Minnesota (1969) and Ohio State (1968) will be playing in the Bruins' iconic home arena for the first time since the late 1960s. Wisconsin last played at UCLA, prior to the construction of Pauley Pavilion, in 1962. UCLA has never hosted Penn State or played at Penn State (just one NCAA Tournament showdown in 1990, won by Penn State).
 
ROAD GAMES: Similar to the Bruins' upcoming home Big Ten opponents, UCLA will be playing at six schools with which they have not traveled to since prior to 2001. UCLA and Maryland played a home-and-home series in 2022 and 2023, with the Bruins winning at Maryland in Dec. 2022. Beyond that recent series, the Bruins faced off with Purdue in a home-and-home series in Dec. 2000 and Dec. 2001, with UCLA winning its most recent contest at Purdue (on Dec. 30, 2000). UCLA has never played on Rutgers' campus, with one game taking place in East Rutherford, N.J., in Dec. 1989 (at Meadowlands Arena). The Bruins last played at Illinois in 1996, as part of a home-and-home series during the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons. UCLA has not played at Northwestern since 1962. The Bruins have played at Indiana twice, in 1941-42 and Dec. 1956 (prior to the construction of IU's Assembly Hall). Likewise, UCLA has played at Nebraska twice, in 1941-42 and in Dec. 1955.
 
UCLA VERSUS BIG TEN TEAMS
vs. Illinois – 6-4
Last meeting: Nov. 18, 2022 (in Las Vegas, Nev.)
 
vs. Indiana – 6-6
Last meeting: March 17, 2007 (NCAA Tournament in Sacramento, Calif.)
 
vs. Iowa – 3-5
Last meeting: Dec. 22, 1990 (at Iowa)
 
vs. Maryland – 7-3
Last meeting: Dec. 22, 2023 (at UCLA)
 
vs. Michigan – 13-6
Last meeting: March 30, 2021 (NCAA Tournament in Indianapolis, Ind.)
 
vs. Michigan State – 7-4
Last meeting: March 18, 2021 (NCAA Tournament in West Lafayette, Ind.)
 
vs. Minnesota – 5-2
Last meeting: March 22, 2013 (NCAA Tournament in Austin, Texas)
 
vs. Nebraska – 6-2
Last meeting: Nov. 25, 2016 (in Fullerton, Calif.)
 
vs. Northwestern – 5-1
Last meeting: March 18, 2023 (NCAA Tournament in Sacramento, Calif.)
 
vs. Ohio State – 6-7
Last meeting: Dec. 16, 2023 (in Atlanta, Ga.)
 
vs. Oregon – 94-42
Last meeting: March 14, 2024 (Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas, Nev.)
 
vs. Penn State – 0-1
Only meeting: March 18, 1991 (NCAA Tournament in Syracuse, N.Y.)
 
vs. Purdue – 10-3
Last meeting: Dec. 20, 2000 (at Purdue)
 
vs. Rutgers – 2-1
Last meeting: Dec. 3, 1981 (in East Rutherford, N.J.)
 
vs. USC – 147-116
Last meeting: Feb. 24, 2024 (at UCLA)
 
vs. Washington – 108-44
Last meeting: Feb. 29, 2024 (at Washington)
 
vs. Wisconsin – 5-2
Last meeting: Nov. 21, 2017 (in Kansas City, Mo.)

You might also be interested in these other Pac12-Big10 Merger 2024: Throwback posts: 

Big Ten grabs Oregon, Washington; Big 12 completes Pac-12 raid with Arizona, Arizona State and Utah from Aug 05 2023

Big Ten votes to add USC, UCLA as members starting in 2024 from June 30 2022

Pac12-Big10 Merger 2024: Throwback post: Big Ten grabs Oregon, Washington; Big 12 completes Pac-12 raid with Arizona, Arizona State and Utah

 

By  RALPH D. RUSSO

AP News

Updated 11:07 AM PDT, August 5, 2023

Article Link

Dealing a crushing combination to the Pac-12 on Friday, the Big Ten announced Oregon and Washington would be joining the conference next August, and the Big 12 completed its raid of the beleaguered league by adding Arizona, Arizona State and Utah.

The day began with hope and nine members for the Pac-12. It ended with the Pac-12 — with roots that date back a century and more NCAA championships than any other — down to four schools and facing extinction because it was unable to land a media rights agreement to match its competitors.

“Today’s news is incredibly disappointing for student-athletes, fans, alumni and staff of the Pac-12 who cherish the over 100-year history, tradition and rivalries of the Conference of Champions,” the conference said in a statement. “We remain focused on securing the best possible future for each of our member universities.”

The super-conference era has arrived in college sports, and it has swallowed the Pac-12 — the conference that produced Jackie Robinson, John Elway, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Barry Bonds.

After the Big Ten paved the way Friday morning for the Pacific Northwest rivals to join, the Ducks were first to make it official with a unanimous vote by the school’s 13 trustees. The Big Ten a short time later said its presidents’ council had voted to accept Oregon along with Washington and become an 18-team coast-to-coast conference, with four West Coast members.

“Our student-athletes will participate at the highest level of collegiate athletic competition, and our alumni, friends, and fans will be able to carry the spirit of Oregon across the country,” Oregon President John Karl Scholz said.

The Big 12, meanwhile, had three more Pac-12 schools in its sights, a week after luring away Colorado.

Arizona’s entry was approved Thursday night, but the Big 12’s long-brewing expansion plan was far from complete.

Once it became apparent on Friday that Oregon and Washington were leaving the Pac-12, Arizona State and Utah didn’t have much choice but to jump, too. The Big 12 presidents OK’d the Sun Devils and Utes, and soon after the conference made it official. The Big 12 will be a 16-team conference, spanning from Florida to Arizona, in the fall of 2024.

“We are thrilled to welcome Arizona, Arizona State and Utah to the Big 12,” said Commissioner Brett Yormark, whose aggressive approach in his first year on the job has sent shock waves across major college sports. “The Conference is gaining three premier institutions both academically and athletically, and the entire Big 12 looks forward to working alongside their presidents, athletic directors, student-athletes and administrators.”

Beyond this school year, the Pac-12 is down to: Stanford, California, Oregon State and Washington State.

The Big Ten’s latest grab from its Rose Bowl partners comes a little more than a year after it landed Southern California and UCLA. The Big Ten will be the largest conference in major college sports, spanning 15 states from New Jersey to Washington.

“The Big Ten is a thriving conference with strong athletic and academic traditions, and we are excited and confident about competing at the highest level on a national stage,” Washington President Ana Mari Cauce said.

Pac-12 leaders met early Friday to determine if its remaining schools would accept the potential media rights deal with Apple that Commissioner George Kliavkoff presented this week.

Two people with knowledge of the discussion between the Big Ten and Oregon said the Ducks were leaning toward staying in the Pac-12 late Thursday, boosting the possibility that others would stay put, too.

Instead, Oregon officials notified the Pac-12 early Friday they were still uncomfortable with the Apple deal and the school would be re-engaging with the Big Ten.

“We are disappointed with the recent decisions by some of our Pac-12 peers,” Washington State President Kirk Schulz and athletic director Pat Chun said Friday before its Apple Cup rival announced it was leaving, “While we had hoped that our membership would remain together, this outcome was always a possibility, and we have been working diligently to determine what is next for Washington State athletics. We’ve prepared for numerous scenarios, including our current situation.”

Former Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren had encouraged member schools to add Oregon and Washington after the conference landed the Los Angeles schools last summer, the blow that began the Pac-12’s descent.

Less than two weeks ago, Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti said his presidents and chancellors wanted to him to focus on USC and UCLA’s transition and not more expansion. Now, the Pac-12’s two biggest remaining brands and perennial football powers are heading for a new home. Oregon’s and Washington’s closest new conference neighbor, — not including the L.A. schools — the University of Nebraska, will be more than a 1,600-mile drive away.

The Ducks and Huskies will receive a reduced payout, Scholz confirmed, compared to current Big Ten members and to USC and UCLA, which are projected to receive more than $60 million each in media rights revenue from the league starting next year. A person familiar with the negotiations said the Ducks and Huskies would receive about $30 million per year for its first six years in the conference, with annual escalators and the ability to draw on future payments.

Washington and Oregon were charter members of the Pacific Coast Conference in 1916, the organization that eventually became the Pac-8, then 10, then 12.

While the USC and UCLA decisions to leave started the Pac-12’s demise, last fall’s move by the Big 12 and Yormark to get an early extension of its media rights deals with ESPN and Fox was key.

That left a thin market for Kliavkoff and the Pac-12, which ended up with the streaming-heavy proposal with Apple that would have left its schools lagging behind a paywall and other Power Five conferences in revenue.

Less than a month before a football season kicks off that is expected to feature one of the strongest and most exciting group of Pac-12 teams in years, it very well might be the conference’s last.

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Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at http://www.appodcasts.com

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RALPH D. RUSSO

Russo has been the national college football writer for The Associated Press for two decades. He is a native New Yorker.

Pac 12-Big 10 Merger 2024: Throwback post: Big Ten votes to add USC, UCLA as members starting in 2024

BY  RALPH D. RUSSO AND ERIC OLSON

AP NEWS

Published 6:02 PM PDT, June 30, 2022

Article Link

In a surprising and seismic shift in college athletics, the Big Ten voted Thursday to add Southern California and UCLA as conference members beginning in 2024.

The expansion to 16 teams will happen after the Pac-12’s current media rights contracts with Fox and ESPN expire and make the Big Ten the first conference to stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

The announcement, which caught the Pac-12 off-guard, came almost a year after Oklahoma and Texas formally accepted invitations to join the Southeastern Conference in July 2025.

Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren said USC and UCLA, both members of the Pac-12 and its previous iterations for nearly a century, submitted applications for membership and the league’s Council of Presidents and Chancellors voted unanimously to add the Los Angeles schools.

“Ultimately, the Big Ten is the best home for USC and Trojan athletics as we move into the new world of collegiate sports,” USC athletic director Mike Bohn said. “We are excited that our values align with the league’s member institutions. We also will benefit from the stability and strength of the conference; the athletic caliber of Big Ten institutions; the increased visibility, exposure, and resources the conference will bring our student-athletes and programs; and the ability to expand engagement with our passionate alumni nationwide.”

The Big Ten is building on previous expansion into the nation’s largest media markets, and the move allows the conference to keep pace with the SEC as one of the most powerful entities in college sports.

The Big Ten will gain blueblood programs in football (USC) and basketball (UCLA) and big-name brands that will enhance the value of the conference’s new media rights package currently being negotiated.

Losing flagship schools like USC and UCLA is a major blow to the Pac-12, which has had a long and amicable relationship with the Big Ten best exemplified by its Rose Bowl partnership.

“While we are extremely surprised and disappointed by the news coming out of UCLA and USC today, we have a long and storied history in athletics, academics, and leadership in supporting student-athletes that we’re confident will continue to thrive and grow into the future,” the Pac-12 said in a statement.

The Pac-12’s next move is unknown, but adding schools to replace USC and UCLA is a possibility.

“We look forward to partnering with current and potential members to pioneer the future of college athletics together,” the Pac-12 said.

The Big Ten has expanded twice in recent years, with Nebraska joining in 2011 and Maryland and Rutgers in 2014.

USC and UCLA fit the Big Ten’s academic profile. Both schools are among the 65 members of the Association of American Universities, which is made up of top research universities. All Big Ten schools except Nebraska are members.

“From increased exposure and a broader national platform for our student-athletes, to enhanced resources for our teams, this move will help preserve the legacy of UCLA Athletics for generations to come,” UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond said.

“We have deeply valued our membership in the Pac-12, and we have great respect for the conference and our fellow member institutions, but each school faces its own unique challenges and circumstances. We believe this is the right move for UCLA at the right time.”

USC and UCLA stand to significantly increase their revenues. The Pac-12 distributed only $19.8 million per school in fiscal year 2021, by far the least among Power 5 conferences. The Big Ten’s per-school distribution was $46.1 million, second only to the SEC’s $54.6 million.

The Pac-12 has had difficulty getting its conference television network untracked while the Big Ten Network is the most established of the conference networks.

USC and UCLA would be taking a step up in football, both in visibility and competition.

“Pac-12 After Dark” televised games that kick off in the middle to late evenings in most of the country have made it difficult for the conference to get exposure. The Pac-12 has had teams in the College Football Playoff just twice — Oregon (2014 season) and Washington (2016).

USC President Carol L. Folt said she and university leaders considered the coast-to-coast travel that will come with competing in the Big Ten. Nebraska is the westernmost school in the conference now, and Lincoln is almost 1,500 miles from Los Angeles. Rutgers, the easternmost Big Ten school, is a nearly 5 1/2-hour flight from LA.

“We are fortunate we can spend the next two years working with the conference on travel and scheduling plans,” Folt said.

The Big Ten, Pac-12 and Atlantic Coast Conference last August formed an alliance in the wake of Oklahoma and Texas joining the SEC. The conferences said the 41 members would take a collaborative approach to charting the future of athletics. The three conferences set up scheduling arrangements in some sports and have pooled resources to promote athlete welfare.

Less than a year later, the future of the alliance would appear bleak with the Big Ten taking two of the Pac-12′s biggest brands.

USC and UCLA will be severing longstanding conference relationships. USC joined California, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, Washington and Washington State in the Pacific Coast Conference in 1922, followed by UCLA in 1928.

They went together in 1959 to the Athletic Association of Western Universities, which became the Pac-8 in 1968, the Pac-10 in 1978 and Pac-12 in 2011.

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RALPH D. RUSSO

Russo has been the national college football writer for The Associated Press for two decades. He is a native New Yorker.

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ERIC OLSON

Olson is an Associated Press sports writer based in Omaha, Nebraska. He covers Nebraska, Creighton, the Big Ten and national college sports issues.