Social Media Reactions to UCLA, USC Moving From Pac-12 to Big Ten

The Bruins and Trojans collectively flipped the college sports landscape on its head Thursday, and there were plenty of people who joined in on the conversation.

The past 24 hours have been among the most eventful in college sports history, and the action may not be done.

People from across the world have spent the past day sharing their thoughts on UCLA and USC moving from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten, with celebration, confusion, apprehension and more dominating the conversation. Although it will take two years before the two crosstown rivals actually join the Big Ten, the move became official Thursday night and reactions continued to flood in.

From jokes and gifs to analysis of the Pac-12's demise and certain cartoonish scenarios becoming reality, people had plenty to say about the Bruins and Trojans' collective decision to change leagues.

How UCLA and USC pulling up to the Big Ten https://t.co/8o7sHZsIWE

— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) June 30, 2022

If USC and UCLA end up in the Big Ten, we get Lincoln Riley, Chip Kelly and Ryan Day going head up. I am here for this.

— RJ Young (@RJ_Young) June 30, 2022

bill walton calling a ucla vs. northwestern basketball game wearing a hawaiian shirt in evanston at 11 pm ET in february

— Nick Suss (@nicksuss) June 30, 2022

Didn’t expect Illinois vs UCLA in Las Vegas in November to be a conference basketball game

— Nitin (@NickelSn_) June 30, 2022

The Big Ten's footprint now will consist of schools in five of the seven largest metro markets: 1. New York; 2. Los Angeles; 3. Chicago; 6. Washington D.C.; 7. Philadelphia.

— Scott Dochterman (@ScottDochterman) June 30, 2022

This won't dominate headlines but USC and UCLA joining the Big Ten is a massive move in college volleyball as well.

— Katie George (@Katie_George05) June 30, 2022

Larry Scott killed the Pac-12. That last media deal and refusal to sell any of the media deal left it absolutely FUBAR.

George Kliavkoff did everything possible but he inherited an absolute mess and you can understand why USC and UCLA were proactive about leaving.

— George Wrighster III (@georgewrighster) June 30, 2022

They are going to make so much damn money.

New locker rooms and weight rooms for everybody. https://t.co/jSUHM1drn8

— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) July 1, 2022

https://t.co/TQ7JvGYGLl pic.twitter.com/WV108DEmS0

— Michael Lewis (@CoachMikeLewis) July 1, 2022

With the two Los Angeles schools entering the fray, the Big Ten has gone from being a Midwestern conference to a nationwide one.

Penn State joining in the 1990s – followed by Maryland and Rutgers joining a decade ago – gave the Big Ten the Mid-Atlantic, and now they have Southern California in their footprint as well.

UCLA at Iowa in November during a driving snowstorm at 11am CT is just what college football was missing.

— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) June 30, 2022

lot of talk about if UCLA & USC can play in the heavy rain & snowy big ten games...

where are those asking if the current big ten teams can play in front of empty crowds in LA?

— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) June 30, 2022

the once-Midwestern Big Ten now stretching from Rutgers to UCLA, from Wall Street to Hollywood, from sea to shining sea... it has finally proven all the memes true pic.twitter.com/n7YhKjIf1v

— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) June 30, 2022

UCLA to Rutgers, btw, is almost the same distance as Rutgers to Reykjanesbær, Iceland.

— Matt Brown (@MattBrownEP) June 30, 2022

From UCLA's statement: "Although this move increases travel distances for teams, the resources offered by Big Ten membership may allow for more efficient transportation options."

Translation: We rich! Charters for everybody.

— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) June 30, 2022

UCLA just agreed to roughly quintuple the athletic department's fossil fuel usage https://t.co/tcC9FBG59J

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) July 1, 2022

The reactions were far from uniform, though, and people's concerns stretched far beyond the jokes about travel logistics.

Several people were worried about what the move from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten would mean for non-revenue and Olympic sports.

What’s not being talked about enough in the USC/UCLA move to the Big Ten is how does this impact Olympic sports.

Football and basketball will survive. They have the budget. But what about the other sports programs without the budget that have to travel thousands of miles?

— Cameron Salerno (@cameronsalerno1) June 30, 2022

If you’re on a non-football team at UCLA or USC I guess you’re just gonna have to spend 2-3 months of the year flying back and forth from LA to the Midwest and East Coast

— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) June 30, 2022

Let’s be blunt. This move by USC and UCLA to Big Ten is all about football and basketball. All the other sports have to toe the line and suffer.

— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) July 1, 2022

Near the top of my curiosity list:

How in the world are they going to set the Olympic sports schedules for USC and UCLA teams in a manner that doesn't leave those athletes exhausted in every manner by the end of their seasons?

— Jon Wilner (@wilnerhotline) July 1, 2022

There is also the matter of where the Pac-12 goes from here, as well as some of its 10 remaining member schools.

Even if Oregon, Washington and others were to stay, the "Conference of Champions" has lost a lot of its luster, and people are starting to speculate about which domino will fall next.

Oregon needs to find a way to follow USC and UCLA, and they need to do it now.

— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) June 30, 2022

One of the main drivers of the Pac-12's decline is the combined ineptitude of USC and UCLA football over the last decade. If either had been consistently nationally relevant -- buoying the conference like Clemson for ACC -- it's highly unlikely things play out the way they did.

— Kyle Bonagura (@BonaguraESPN) June 30, 2022

From a Pac-12 source: “This is directly on (Pac-12 presidents) hands. They didn’t prioritize football and now they are going to constantly be dealing with the one thing they are least equipped to handle.”

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) June 30, 2022

Big Ten national championships with USC/UCLA: 558

Pac-12 with USC/UCLA: 544

The Conference of Champions doesn’t even get to use their favorite moniker anymore.

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) July 1, 2022

The conversation surrounding UCLA and USC's move is far from over, and conference realignment certainly isn't done either. Two more years in the Pac-12 may be awkward for Bruin fans, knowing that the end is near, so social media banter is sure to stay hot through the summer and beyond.

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