College football realignment: UCLA move to Big Ten in danger?

Could the Big Ten's latest expansion move be in danger? There might be a chance.

USC and UCLA announced they will move to the Big Ten in 2024 in the next bombshell of college football expansion.

But now it sounds like one of those schools isn't a lock to make that jump.

UCLA's move to the Big Ten "cannot be viewed as a certainty," according to West Coast football reporter Jon Wilner.

That news comes after UCLA met with the University of California Board of Regents to discuss how the move to the Big Ten could affect the UC system.

Wilner reports that it's more likely than not that UCLA still joins the Big Ten in two years, but that there's a 10 or 15 percent chance of it not happening.

Which would certainly throw a curve into the Big Ten's future plans, especially after the conference just announced a record TV deal that analysts believe is worth as much as $8 billion over the next seven years.

What if UCLA actually doesn't join the Big Ten? Wilner suggests the conference would still want to extend its footprint on the West Coast and go after Stanford.

That would give the Big Ten an important presence in the San Francisco Bay Area and a connection to one of the most highly-valued alumni groups in the country.

Plus, it would allow the Pac-12 to retain at least some presence in the Los Angeles media market.

All said, the verdict is still out on whether the UC Regents would actually intervene and prevent UCLA from joining the Big Ten.

(h/t Jon Wilner)

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