SAN FRANCISCO โ After sending a letter to University of California regents last month saying UCLA faces a net loss in moving to the Big Ten in 2024, Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff didnโt back down during his menโs basketball media day address Wednesday.
Kliavkoff said he had โyet to talk to anyone in the UCLA and USC community who is in favor of the move,โ which at the least will remove the Bruins and Trojans from historical rivalries and add significantly to their travel costs.
The move drew media projections that UCLA and USC could earn more than $70 million in annual distributions from the Big Ten instead of an estimated $42 million in the Pac-12, but Klaivkoff pointed instead to conference projections that said UCLA could spend up to an extra $38.7 million in the Big Ten.
โWe believe that between the travel and coachesโ salaries and some of the other expenses that you incur when you join the Big Ten, that the small delta in the media rights field will be more than offset," Kliavkoff said. "And we stand by those numbers."
Kliavkoff declined to specify the conferenceโs financial projections for UCLA on Wednesday but in his letter, obtained by the New York Times, he said UCLA faces a 100% increase in its $8.1 million annual travel costs if it flies commercial โ and much more if it flies charter for some or all sports, as has been expected.
If the Bruins travel by charter half of the time, the Pac-12 expected it would face a 160% increase and, if charters everywhere, a 290% increase or an extra $23.7 million. In addition, the Pac-12 projected that UCLA would spend an extra $15 million on coaching salaries, administrators and other expenses โjust to compete at an โaverageโ Big Ten budget.
Kliavkoffโs letter to the UC Regents also noted that the University of California will be adversely affected, since Pac-12 media revenues will be reduced if both USC and UCLA left, pulling the lucrative Los Angeles market from the conference -- and thus reducing per-school payouts.
Since the Pac-12 is currently in the middle of media rights negotiations, Kliavkoff told the Regents that there is โurgencyโ in the possibility of reversing UCLAโs decision.
โWe are soliciting bids with and without UCLA,โ Kliavkoff said. โIf we are forced to sign a deal without UCLA, the financial harm will be locked in for years to come.โ
Also regarding UCLA's move, Kliavkoff cited the negative effect on well-being of athletes both academically and mentally, the additional travel hardship for families and alumni, in addition to a โsignificant impact on the UC Systemโs stated goal of reducing carbon emissions.โ
