Old news now............BUT

[BroncoSaurus]

U.S.C. and U.C.L.A. - like Texas and Oklahoma before them - have "entered the transfer portal".   Word is U.S.C. and U.C.L.A. will be members of the Big "Ten" as early as 2024.

My question is will they be required - by the Big Ten Conference - to field a men's wrestling team as every other school currently in the Big "Ten" has a wrestling team.   There are currently 14 schools in the Big "Ten" and all 14 of them have a Division I wrestling team.  So WHY ON EARTH would they want to bring in U.S.C. and U.C.L.A. - both of which do NOT have wrestling teams?

[BroncoSaurus]

Personally I think if the Big "Ten" (actually 14) wanted to add a couple of PAC 12 schools they SHOULD have invited Arizona State and Stanford or Oregon State.

[RYou]

Arizona State and Oregon State are not members of the Association of American Universities and therefore not likely to get an invitation to join.  Notre Dame is the only non-member of the AAU that would get an invitation.  Matter of fact they are already in the Big Ten Conference for ice hockey.

I don't think USC and UCLA will be required to offer wrestling even though it is an Olympic sport which B1G maintains high priority.

[mspart]

This just doesn't seem real to me.   USC and UCLA were there when it was the PAC-8.   They have been there forever.   But I guess if little rock can be in Pac 12, I guess it follows. 

mspart

[BroncoSaurus]

Arizona State and Oregon State are not members of the Association of American Universities and therefore not likely to get an invitation to join.  Notre Dame is the only non-member of the AAU that would get an invitation.  Matter of fact they are already in the Big Ten Conference for ice hockey.

I don't think USC and UCLA will be required to offer wrestling even though it is an Olympic sport which B1G maintains high priority.

I mentioned Arizona State and Stanford and Oregon State because they all have wrestling programs - just like every current member of the Big Ten.  Stanford IS a member of the Association of American Universities.  But then so is U.C. Davis, U.C. Irvine, U.C. Santa Cruz, U.C. Santa Barbara, and U.C. San Diego.

[RYou]

True, most of the UC affiliated schools are in the AAU, but they aren't in the PAC 12 and don't carry big TV markets.

Stanford Oregon and Washington would jump on an invite to the BIG.  The remaining scraps would like jump to go Big 12.

[mspart]

So why the consolidation?

mspart

[RYou]

TV revenue. TV is dangling big bucks under the noses of the B1G and SEC.  The downside Oregon and Washington are not big TV markets.  I'd hazard guess Stanford was offered and declined.

[ctc]

Arizona State and Oregon State are not members of the Association of American Universities and therefore not likely to get an invitation to join.  Notre Dame is the only non-member of the AAU that would get an invitation.  Matter of fact they are already in the Big Ten Conference for ice hockey.

I don't think USC and UCLA will be required to offer wrestling even though it is an Olympic sport which B1G maintains high priority.

I doubt "required".  Hockey is an Olympic sport as is baseball and  not all B10 have them.

[red viking]

They definitely won't be "required" to have a wrestling team.