When the Big Ten expanded to include four West Coast schools, travel became a big concern. Some athletes from Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington had to go coast to coast for games – but Bruins AD Martin Jarmond said it didn’t cause many problems.
Jarmond told the University of California Board of Regents the increased travel “was not an issue,” based on what he heard after exit meetings, according to the San Jose Mercury News’ Jon Wilner. He also noted UCLA budgeted a $5 million in crease in travel costs, but said the athletics department “will come in under that.”
In its inaugural season in the Big Ten, UCLA’s football team logged more than 22,000 miles while traveling for road games. The Bruins’ East Coast matchups included games at Penn State and Rutgers within a three-week window.
UCLA men’s basketball also had an East Coast swing in January with games at Maryland and Rutgers – both of which were losses. After that trip, Mick Cronin received a question about the “wear and tear” on his players, and he responded in kind.
“Wear and tear on them? Is that a joke? Please tell me that’s a joke. Comparable?” Cronin said. “Ask me UCLA’s record East of the Mississippi in the last 20 years. Because when I got the job, I looked it up for scheduling purposes. It’s under .500, OK.
“We have to go back four times. ‘Oh, the Big Ten teams get to come to Los Angeles where it’s 70 degrees one time a year.’ They don’t even have to switch hotels. We’re 12 miles apart. Are you kidding me? Please tell me you’re kidding me. I mean is this a plant? Is this a planted question? I mean you cannot be serious with that.”
After a groundbreaking round of realignment shook up college athletics, Oregon and Washington will phase in to a full share of the revenue. USC and UCLA, however, will receive a full share right away from the Big Ten – which saw the early effects of its landmark media rights deal in its fiscal year 2024 documents.
According to the documents, the Big Ten generated over $928 million in revenue, which is an increase from the $880 million during the 2023 fiscal year. That means the conference distributed roughly $63.2 million to each of its 12 longest-standing schools, USA Today reported – up from $60.5 million the previous fiscal year.
