UCLA Football News: CFB Analyst Joe Klatt Unveils UCLA's Compelled Conference Change
I'm not sure if you guys have heard this, but UCLA will be leaving the Pac-12 conference and moving to the Big 10 conference starting in 2024.
The move to the Big 10 is necessary as the Pac-12 conference has been struggling for years, and it's a better financial move for the athletic department. The change was inevitable, and now it is finally going down. 2023 will be the last season the Bruins will be a part of the Pac-12, but were they forced to leave?
FOX College Football analyst Joe Klatt joined FS1 show The Herd and said both UCLA and USC were forced to leave the Pac-12.
“They had to leave,” Klatt said on a recent appearance on The Herd. “They were forced to leave the Pac-12. Still doesn’t have a media deal. I mean, for crying out loud. So that’s a totally moot point, they left, they had to, they’re in a better spot. Now you look at what is it in practice? What is it in reality? Well, you look at those schedules."
UCLA is one of the biggest brands in the world; how are you supposed to deem that true if your own conference doesn't even have a media deal? The Pac-12 showed through their actions and words that they were not serious about college football, and the move was mandatory.
Not only that, but the level of competition and who you're playing is a step up from the Pac-12, as Klatt also took a deep dive into that.
“That’s a really good schedule. It’s a good schedule for your home fans. It’s a good schedule for parity within the conference, and it’s a good schedule to try to compete for a playoff spot. In particular as we move into 2024 and ‘25, where we’ve got the expanded playoff.”
The Bruins will host the Ohio State Buckeyes, Nebraska Cornhuskers, and the USC Trojans. Think about the media coverage and how sold out the Rose Bowl will be for those games. No disrespect, but the other Pac-12 schools don't draw as much as the Big 10 schools.
It was the right move, and if they are serious about football, which this move shows they are, it will be better for them in the long run.
