Gavin Newsom Blasts Lack of Transparency in UCLA’s Move to Big Ten

The governor said he found out about the news from the newspaper, just as many fans did that day.

Following UCLA and USC’s surprising June announcement they will move from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten, the University of California Board of Regents has started looking into the decision, with California governor Gavin Newsom saying there was hardly any communication that UCLA, a public university, would be changing leagues.

Newsom, who is an ex officio member of the board, spoke on the situation Thursday to Fox 11 in Los Angeles about the board already looking into UCLA’s move. He did not hold back in his response to the situation.

“Trust me when I say this, we’re not going to be looking into it,” Newsom said. “We already are looking into it, within minutes after reading about this in the newspaper.”

Newsom said the biggest issue he had with UCLA’s news is the regents were never consulted about the potential move. He claims he learned about the move from the newspaper, just as many fans did that day.

“Is it a good idea? Did we discuss the merits or demerits? I’m not aware that anyone did,” Newsom said. “So it was done in isolation. It was done without any regental oversight or support. … I have strong opinions about this, for no other reason than as a member of the regents, we were never consulted, never asked for an opinion and they didn’t even have the decency to provide [a] heads-up.”

In the Board of Regents’ July 21 agenda, it appears the board will be discussing the UCLA situation, per The Mercury News. It’s unclear whether the board is considering any legal action or whether they plan to block UCLA’s move.

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