Rams to Play in Australia, Clears Way For Bruins Down Under?

The NFL appears to be venturing into the South Pacific, this time in Australia. Could that be the gateway for UCLA to expand its brand west?

Jan 19, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Rams linebacker Jared Verse (8) greets Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) after their 2025 NFC divisional round game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

According to a recent report from the Herald Sun, the Los Angeles Rams will play the Philadelphia Eagles in Australia as the NFL attempts to expand its international influence. The game will take place during the 2026 season, pending the NFL's confirmation of the vastly believed report.

The game would be the NFL's first venture into the South Pacific, a region that has boomed in their interest in American football for over 40 years. Ever since the introduction of players from Polynesia and players of Polynesian descent into the NFL, the region has continued to flood the league and collegiate football with new generations of playmakers, leading to the induction of several Hall of Famers.

Despite the player production, there haven't been many ventures made to explore the region. The NFL has made strides to expand outside of London, hosting games in Germany, Brazil and now Spain in 2025.

The last collegiate ventures into the region took play in 2016 and 2017. In 2016, Cal defeated Hawaii 51-31 in front of a crowd of 61,000-plus, and in 2017, Stanford defeated Rice 62-7 in front of a crowd of 33,000-plus.

If the Bruins have any ambitions of expanding their brand into the South Pacific, they could follow the protocols the Rams use on their trip. Transporting a football team is hard, transporting a football team across an ocean is much more difficult. Anything that could be transported on the road now has to be flown or shipped months in advance.

This way, the Rams could draw the blueprint for overseas travel, and UCLA could benefit from connections the Rams may make as they plan their journey. The Rams do have experience playing in London, having played there four times.

The Rams would be inclined to help as it would be good PR for them and UCLA could provide the team inside access to prospects, giving them an upper hand during draft day.

There are a lot of possibilities, but UCLA would need to find the financial resources to pull it off. It might not be a gamble worth taking, but a gamble into a new market nonetheless.

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