3 thoughts on Big Ten’s expansion and future of college football

The Big Ten conference is expanding with the additions of USC and UCLA and here are three takeaways on what it means for the future of college football.

Last summer, college football received a major shock when Texas and Oklahoma announced they were moving from the SEC to the Big 12.

Now, prior to the 2022 college football season, we have an even bigger, bolder move and one that will change the landscape of the sport forever.

The news dropped early on Thursday morning that USC and UCLA were joining the Big Ten conference and according to Pete Thamel, the move is now official as the league formally told the Trojans and Bruins they have been accepted.

Just like that, the Big Ten has 16 teams and spans from New Jersey (New York Market) all the way to Los Angeles. Chances are, college football expansion isn’t over and while college hoops will play a role too, football is what drives these moves and here are three thoughts on these additions.

Money was the driving factor

Outside of the financial benefits, this move doesn’t make any sense. Teams from the Midwest are now going to have to travel to the West coast for conference games and vice versa. For the Trojans and Bruins, that means at least three games a year in the Midwest, depending on the schedule.

Still, the difference between the Big Ten, SEC, and Pac-12, financially, was big enough to spurn this move from USC/UCLA perspective.

From the Big Ten side of things, this was a perfect response to the SEC landing Texas and Oklahoma. USC is a big-time brand in college football and outside of Notre Dame, was the biggest addition the Big Ten could make. Plus it makes the conference coast-to-coast, something the SEC can’t even say.

This also doesn’t feel like that last domino.