UCLA’s move to the Big 10 could be blocked as rival USC may leave them BEHIND

While cross-town rivals USC make the dash for the Big Ten Conference, the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) could be forced to stay behind.

USC – a private school – wouldn’t meet any similar blocks to this from their governing body.

UCLA is governed by the Regents of the University of California, who recently had a proposal for new rules limiting campuses from making major athletics decisions on their own.

On top of this, the LA Times says two of these regents have suggested a way to block UCLA’s move that’s been announced since late June of this year.

The Times was also told by one regent the power to block the move is in the hands of the UC system, saiying, ‘All options are on the table.’ 

UCLA chancellor Gene Block initially executed the move on the authority of a UC system policy from 1991, giving authority to individual campuses to create and fulfil their own contracts, including intercollegiate athletic contracts. 

But Charlie Robinson, an attorney for the UC system, said that ultimate deciding power never went away from the Regents.

‘It’s important to understand that when the regents delegated authority to the president, they didn’t give it away or lose it,’ Robinson said during a regents’ meeting. ‘Essentially, what they did was extend it such that authority was with the regents and the president.’ 

As for how the move could be blocked, Robinson said one option could come in the form of a directive from the regent board chair Richard Leib for Block to stand down. 

When asked by the Times if he wanted to kill the deal, Leib called that ‘premature,’ and would continue to evaluate the move and its impact on budgets, travel time for athletes, and other issues.

Why the UC system would do this lies in its power to prevent damage to the athletic department of its flagship campus, the University of California at Berkeley or Cal.

The regents have no authority over USC’s move, which is projected to cost the remaining Pac-12 campuses just under $10 million in lost revenue from annual media rights.

UCLA’s departure will cost other Pac-12 members only one-third of that number, but Cal will feel that loss the most of the other UC campuses.

Some fans couldn’t care less that Cal – a major rival of UCLA’s – would suffer from their move.

‘I find it a little bit shocking and unconscionable that you would expect fans, donors and alums to really look at what it meant for (UC Berkeley),’ Sam Andress, a UCLA supporter said during a public comment portion of the meeting. 

‘I think it’s going to be a net positive for Los Angeles and the UCLA community.’ 

Travel to Big Ten campuses as far away as Piscataway, NJ – home of Rutgers University, State College, PA – home of Penn State, and College Park, MD – home of the University of Maryland, would have significant impacts on non-charter flight athletes.

Teams such as UCLA’s baseball, soccer, tennis, softball, volleyball, and gymnastics squads would experience ‘significant travel consequences’ as the result of a move to the Big Ten. 

In spite of this, a move to the Big Ten could be a huge financial gain for UCLA, after the conference just signed a $1.5 billion media rights deal.