USC/UCLA joining Big Ten

[crossface21]

With the news coming out of this happening possibly by 2024, the Big Ten will finally have members that don't have wrestling because I think the chances of those schools adding wrestling are about 0%.

[Wisconsin Wrestling Fan]

With the news coming out of this happening possibly by 2024, the Big Ten will finally have members that don't have wrestling because I think the chances of those schools adding wrestling are about 0%.

It would be interesting to add wrestling to those schools.. UCLA had some good individuals in the past ...

[npope]

You guys beat me to it - I thought this was a BIG news item (but still, just a news item up to now). Lots of questions to be answered - perhaps the first being whether a BIG 10 school has to have wrestling. I think someone had previously determined that having wrestling is not a prerequisite (please chime in if I am wrong on this point). Alternatively, does the Big 10 change its by-laws to accommodate a couple of pussy-West coast teams (sorry for the editorial comment - just had to say it). Would love to see wrestling reinstated in big schools in California.

[crossface21]

The Big Ten does not have a wrestling requirement. It would be great that if somehow it allowed them to field a team, although unlikely. In addition, chances are there are going to be more teams joining the Big Ten and who know where they will come from. Perhaps they grab 2 more Pac 12 teams-say ASU and Stanford?

[npope]

While not a "wrestling requirement," isn't there something in the Big Ten by-laws that requires all members of the conference to support both football and basketball program as well as support something like 12 other sports from a list of something like 16 sports - of which wrestling is one? Or is that all just "folklore"? I sincerely don't know the answer.

[Hungus]

I read yesterday that UCLA/USC plan to participate in all Big Ten sports
Both USC & UCLA has club wrestling teams, so I would think there is a good possibility.

[npope]

NIL, break up of the PAC 12, the recent change in the transfer protocol, etc... The world of collegiate athletics as we knew it is disintegrating around us. I don't know if anyone really has a good idea as to what the system is morphing into, but I would bet money (maybe both figuratively as well as literally) that the outcome looks a lot more like a prep league for the pros in the sports with pro-level sports while the non-pro sports recede further into the shadows. Too much to think that pro-affiliations might make connection to collegiate teams as specific feeder programs? Yeah, I know no one thinks that can happen given our current system but that's just it - the current system is breaking down very quickly and a new system will emerge to replace it...what will emerge to fill the void? I don't know, but if you had told me five years ago that we would have our current situation I wouldn't have believed you.

Buckle your seat belts, folks....

[Gutwrench]

I read yesterday that UCLA/USC plan to participate in all Big Ten sports
Both USC & UCLA has club wrestling teams, so I would think there is a good possibility.

If USC/UCLA officially decide to have wrestling, wouldn't you think of them as a major sleeping giant?  Lots of high level high school wrestlers in that state.  I would think they would definitely keep many of them in state by having the draw of being in the best wrestling conference in the nation.  Of course there's Title IX standing in the way, but if they could figure that out.....

[TomM]

For Immediate Release
June 30, 2022

Contact: Jon Schwartz
Big Ten Conference
224-277-4451
mediainquiries@bigten.org

Big Ten Conference Statement

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference Council of Presidents and Chancellors voted unanimously today to admit the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Southern California to the Big Ten Conference effective August 2, 2024. Competition will begin for all conference sports in the 2024-25 academic year.

After receiving written applications from the two universities, Big Ten Conference Commissioner Kevin Warren, alongside conference athletics directors and the Council of Presidents and Chancellors, evaluated the applications based on a dynamic model weighting four primary principles with supporting criteria. The principles include academics and culture; student-athlete welfare, competition, and logistics; commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in sports; and financial sustainability. The model allows the conference to analyze criteria in a strategic and effective manner.

"As the national leader in academics and athletics for over 126 years, the Big Ten Conference has historically evaluated its membership with the collective goal to forward the academic and athletic mission for student-athletes under the umbrella of higher education," Commissioner Warren stated. "The unanimous vote today signifies the deep respect and welcoming culture our entire conference has for the University of Southern California, under the leadership of President Carol Folt, and the University of California, Los Angeles, under the leadership of Chancellor Gene Block. I am thankful for the collaborative efforts of our campus leadership, athletics directors and Council of Presidents and Chancellors who recognize the changing landscape of college athletics, methodically reviewed each request, and took appropriate action based on our consensus."

The Big Ten Conference has a lineage of transformation dating back to the historic meeting with seven university presidents on January 11, 1895, at the Palmer House in Chicago, Illinois. Those seven leaders created the blueprint for what grew into the modern intercollegiate sports model. Adding the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Southern California continues the conference's legacy of transformation and innovation in college athletics. The addition of the two universities remains subject to negotiation of final terms.

###

ADAM AUGUSTINE
Senior Director, Communications & Sports Administration | Big Ten Conference
5440 Park Place | Rosemont, IL 60018>
O 847.696.1010 ext. 151 | C 224.340.0374

[crossface21]

From all the things I've read and heard, there are no plans to add wrestling at USC and UCLA, even with the merger.
MAYBE it'll happen down the line but I think it's very doubtful.

As for the future, I think the Big Ten has very viable options with adding universities with ND, Oregon, and Washington. None of those universities are going to add wrestling. And that's just a fact.

[Numbers]

From all the things I've read and heard, there are no plans to add wrestling at USC and UCLA, even with the merger.
MAYBE it'll happen down the line but I think it's very doubtful.

As for the future, I think the Big Ten has very viable options with adding universities with ND, Oregon, and Washington. None of those universities are going to add wrestling. And that's just a fact.

I think these programs will add D1 men's wrestling the same time as D1 women's wrestling.

[crossface21]

From all the things I've read and heard, there are no plans to add wrestling at USC and UCLA, even with the merger.
MAYBE it'll happen down the line but I think it's very doubtful.

As for the future, I think the Big Ten has very viable options with adding universities with ND, Oregon, and Washington. None of those universities are going to add wrestling. And that's just a fact.

I think these programs will add D1 men's wrestling the same time as D1 women's wrestling.

Women's wrestling does change things a bit. So maybe a sliver of hope. However, Notre Dame has already said they have no plans to add any sports that they have previously dropped.