Brad Underwood loves L.A., and thanks to conference realignment the Illini head coach will be gifted the opportunity to take all-inclusive mini vacations to sunny southern California each year beginning in 2024.
That’s when USC and UCLA formally join the Big Ten Conference, as announced roughly two weeks ago. But its more than the warm, sandy beaches and palm trees that has Underwood fired up about the addition of two mainstays of the Pac-12 Conference.
Underwood, speaking at former Illini superstar Kendall Gill’s golf outing on Monday, shared that he’s a big proponent of the move to expand the conference to the west coast.
“Really exciting stuff,” Underwood said. “I’m just excited about the possibility of going to LA in January, February, and continuing to see what develops as we move forward.”
L.A.’s crosstown rivals leave behind a long legacy in the Pac-12 for more stable footing – and upwards of $70-million-dollars more in media rights distribution. With the addition of the two California schools, the Big Ten map will soon stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific and include a footprint in New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
The conference will be sixteen teams strong, have a foothold in the three biggest sports markets in America, and boast many of the top brands in college athletics. Football is king in terms of cash flow, and the B1G will have many of the most marketable programs, including traditional powers Ohio State and Michigan, and now the USC Trojans.
Big Ten basketball gets a boost as well, adding perhaps the most storied program in college basketball history. UCLA has 11 NCAA championship banners hanging at Pauley Pavilion where the legendary John Wooden, one of the giants of the game, once ruled.
The Bruins aren’t quite what they used to be under the Wizard of Westwood, but the program has now seen a resurgence with Mick Cronin at the helm.
The Bruins played in the 2020 Final Four while embarking on a Cinderella run as a No. 11 seed. The move to the Big Ten, with primetime games against bankable opponents, should only enhance that success.
“What unbelievable prestige, and I’m speaking from the basketball side,” Underwood said. “You’re talking about Pauley Pavilion, John Wooden, Mick Cronin, a team that just went to the Final Four. You’re talking tremendous history, the best of all time. And we just added them to our league."
Whatever the new Big Ten media deal looks like, the networks must be salivating at the potential marquee matchups, not only during the conference slate but the ACC / Big Ten Challenge and the Gavitt Tipoff Games as well.
Even USC brings quality tradition on the basketball court and loads of recent success under head coach Andy Enfield. The Trojans made a run to the Elite 8 in 2021 and have made it to the NCAA Tournament in four of the last six seasons.
USC also has produced big time talent, with six players drafted since 2016, including three first-round picks in Evan Mobley (third pick), Onyeka Okongwu (sixth pick) and Kevin Porter Jr. (30th pick).
What comes next?
This round of conference realignment seems far from over. Endless theories abound concerning what the game of musical chairs will look like when the music stops.
For the Big Ten, Notre Dame is the no brainer, but that’s complicated. The leadership in South Bend appears to be in no rush decide on its future. Notre Dame is currently a member of the ACC in all sports other than football and ice hockey. Bolting for the Big Ten before 2025 would cost Notre Dame a sizeable buyout.
It’s wild out west. With the Pac-12 and Big-12 both forced into realignment, the two conferences may now have incentive to negotiate. Talks of a merger have broken down before, but this feels different.
As for the Big Ten, expansion may be on pause for now, but there’s no reason to believe 16 is the magic number. A so-called “super-conference” is within the realm of possibilities and Underwood is embracing the new normal.
“I think we all have to have an understanding that the norms we’ve known are gone,” he said. “I think it’s opportunity whether it’s 16, 20, 24, or whatever. I don’t know if there’s too many. I don’t think that way.”
So, change is coming. We’re in a time of profound transformation of college athletics, from NIL, the Transfer Portal, and now conference realignment. It’s hard to predict where it all leads.
With the Big Ten lineup presumably set for the next few years, though, Underwood sees the conference as a powerhouse athletically and as the home of prestigious institutions of higher learning. There’s a lot to sell on the recruiting trail.
“With the best academics, we will present ourselves and student-athletes to get a degree, be successful on and off the court, and in the best environment,” Underwood said. “It’s going to be the best league in the country.”
