Will the Big Ten Continue to Expand West?

With the UCLA Bruins representing one of the four Big Ten teams located on the West Coast, could the Big Ten continue to expand into the territory?

Nov 25, 2023; Pasadena, California, USA; Helmets at the line of scrimmage as UCLA Bruins long snapper Beau Gardner (60) snaps the ball against the California Golden Bears at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The UCLA Bruins took three conference road trips out East, playing Penn State, Rutgers and Nebraska during the 2024 season. A far cry from what they are used to in terms of a travel schedule, the amount of stress and punishment endured by the human body, paired with the rigors of the classroom and the responsibilities of adult life, are not easy to handle, especially on limited rest.

It is becoming quite clear that the current Big Ten model is unsustainable, and thus, the conference as a whole may look to reduce such travel. Outside of Oregon and their fat checkbook, the Big Ten's interests will always lay with their bread-and-butter schools. Michigan, Ohio State and, to an extent, Penn State will be protected, and considering the Buckeyes' loss in Eugene and the Nittany Lions near upset by USC in Los Angeles, the conference doesn't want these trips either.

With that being said along with rumors the SEC plans to acquire several southern-based schools within the ACC, the Big Ten may look to create a separate branch of the conference for West Coast schools. With only four schools located near the Pacific, the Big Ten could add three more to keep one conference game as an opportunity to have their original schools play their West Coast acquisitions.

UNLV remains the biggest prize due to the school's $30-million facility, NFL-caliber home stadium, location to a booming metropolis, and known travel accommodations. However, if the ACC is getting picked apart, Cal and Stanford may look to jump from that train before it's too late.

That would make seven West Coast-based schools located in the major Pacific markets of Los Angeles, Las Vegas, the Bay Area and Seattle.

That's a reduction in travel costs and miles traveled, and it would lead to not only a better football product but potentially a chokehold on West Coast recruiting, a wall that the SEC cannot penetrate. That could lead to more Los Angeles kids staying at their hometown universities. The Big Ten themselves would be able to negotiate a bigger TV deal and a long-term SEC vs. Big Ten kickoff game in Vegas as they had when USC defeated LSU in week one of the 2024 season. It's something to think about.

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