National Players Group Asks UC Regents to Block UCLA Move to Big Ten

Former UCLA player is executive director of NCPA and wrote the letter to the Regents

A national college athletes advocacy group, whose executive director is a former UCLA football player, wrote a letter to the University of California Regents on Wednesday asking the Regents to block UCLA’s move to the Big Ten.

Former Bruins linebacker Ramogu Huma, the executive director of the National College Players Association, wrote the long letter to the Regents, detailing a number of reasons UCLA should not leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten in 2024.

The Regents have said they have the authority to block the move and are scheduled to render their decision at a meeting scheduled for Dec. 14.

Along with concerns about the travel costs and the well-being of the athletes, there are concerns about the adverse financial impact UCLA’s departure will have on Cal, UCLA’s sister school in the UC system. Huma's letter did not address Cal's potential concerns and what the Regents could do about that, but focused instead on the general adverse affects of the move on athletes.

UCLA and USC both agreed to join the Big Ten in 2024, but USC, as a private institution, is not constrained by any state organizations. Both schools are expected to increase their football income considerably by joining the Big Ten.

In his letter, Huma noted the physical, academic and emotional toll that increased travel time will take on athletes if UCLA joins the Big Ten. But he added a racial issue. His letter claimed the graduation rate among UCLA’s Black athletes is 50%, compared with 73% for all Black students. 

He draws this conclusion:

Allowing UCLA to move to the Big Ten will adversely affect 28% of the total Black male students compared to only 2% of total White male students.

Huma claimed leaving a 12-school conference for a 16-team conference would decrease UCLA chances of winning conference titles, leading to a variety of other problems, such as coach retention.

He dismissed the argument that UCLA would have to cut non-income sports without making the move, saying the athletic department could cut from other areas, as noted in this excerpt:

UCLA does not have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem. UCLA is fully capable to preserving all sports if it remains in the Pac-12.

Huma concludes his letter with this:

Not all money is good money. The Regents should not let a handful of people sell the soul of the UCLA athletic program for TV dollars that will be spent on luxury boxes in stadium and lavish salaries for a few. For all the reasons stated in this letter, the NCPA strongly urges the Regents to block UCLA’s move the Big Ten Conference. The NCPA also encourages the Regents to set geographical limits on the intercollegiate athlete conference membership of its universities to prevent this situation from occurring in the future. Please let me know if you have any questions regarding the NCPA’s position.

Sincerely,

Ramogi Huma

Executive Director,

National College Players Association

You can read more reports about the NCPA letter by going to the Los Angeles Times, USA Today or Front Office Sports.

You can read the entire letter by clicking on the letter portion of this Tweet:

The National College Players Association, a players rights group, asks the UC Regents to oppose UCLA's move to the Big Ten.

Director Ramogi Huma, a former UCLA football player, says "This move is a short-sighted
money grab and that will harm college athletes in several ways." pic.twitter.com/2kUFzQT5tv

— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) December 8, 2022

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Cover photo by Kyle Terada, USA TODAY Sports

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