UCLA following USC in moving out of the Pac-12 and into the Big Ten has been discussed as basically a certainty.
That may certainly be the case for USC, but UCLA may have jumped ship a bit prematurely. In fact, the status of UCLA’s move to the Big Ten is still very much in question. That’s a question that could soon be answered, though.
On Dec. 14, the University of California system regents will decide whether or not to affirm, overturn or abstain from action regarding the potential conference change.
“Following a report and discussion on the impacts of conference realignment related to the student-athlete experience, the Board of Regents announced that it will hold a special meeting on December 14th to make a final determination regarding UCLA’s intention to join the Big Ten conference,” the group said in a statement released to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg. “This additional time will allow the Board to fully consider the information presented today and address any additional questions that arise. It will also allow the Office of the President to make specific recommendations on how the university will better support and enhance the student-athlete experience.”
The statement references “today” because the regents met on Thursday in San Francisco to consider the matter. They clearly couldn’t come to a conclusion, which led to the scheduling of a new meeting and the delay of a final decision.
While UCLA may seem like an independent entity to fans, a university able to make its own decisions, it’s worth noting that the University of California system regents don’t believe that’s the case. In fact, because UCLA is part of a greater school system — one that includes the likes of UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz and UC Berkeley (the Cal Bears), among others — the Bruins actually don’t have the autonomy to simply just jump ship and follow USC on a whim.
Their move will have to be approved, and it sounds like it may even be denied.
This thing is far from over, a fact that has to be frustrating both for UCLA as well as the Big Ten.
