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Could UCLA, Big Ten Eventually Move South?

In the territorial expansion that is conference realignment, one begs the question if UCLA could be playing conference games in Florida?
Brock Vierra|
Jan 20, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti on the sidelines before the CFP National Championship college football game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Ohio State Buckeyes at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Jan 20, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti on the sidelines before the CFP National Championship college football game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Ohio State Buckeyes at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti has not been shy about his vision for the conference. He wants expansion, national influence and ultimately, power. While there has been a blurring of the geographical lines that used to define conference membership, the Big Ten has never dared to go into SEC country, and the SEC has never tried to go North of Missouri.

Well, the Wild Ute, the host of "The CFB Mafia," posed a question that at first sounds insane but upon a deeper look, could be a game-changing move for the Big Ten. He proposed that Florida State could potentially join the Big Ten.

This is not the first time an ACC school in the south has been hypothetically linked with the Big Ten, but Florida State is the heart of the ACC alongside Clemson. An injection of Big Ten TV money could be the key to turning the Seminoles into a consistent contender again.

I don't see this move happening anytime soon. Florida State is the king of the ACC in terms of branding and power, along with Clemson. It would go from being a big fish in a small pond to being a small fish in a big pond. Plus, the travel doesn't make sense for it.

Florida State already had to travel to SMU and will have to travel to Cal and Stanford for games. It's unlikely it would want to abandon road games along the Atlantic Coast in order to play cold games up north. It doesn't even like playing Notre Dame after mid-October.

The money it would take to pull off this move is reason enough to say the Seminoles are not joining the Big Ten.

However, the idea does spark debate if the Big Ten should make preemptive moves south in order to counter the SEC. From where we sit, Tulane, Memphis, SMU and programs located in Virginia and North Carolina could be up for grabs.

A move south could be seen as an act of aggression, which could make the SEC want to add even more teams to its conference. A move could stall discussions on reworking the current college football playoff landscape.

It's an interesting situation that could see UCLA traveling to random parts of the country to play games. Fortunately, DeShaun Foster has plenty of experience with hard schedules, considering he spent his first season as head coach playing games in California, Louisiana, New Jersey and Nebraska.

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Brock Vierra
BROCK VIERRA

Brock Vierra, a UNLV graduate, is the Los Angeles Rams Beat Writer On Sports Illustrated. He also works as a college football reporter for our On Sports Illustrated team.

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