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USC, UCLA To Officially Join Big Ten In 2024

The Big Ten conference will soon look a whole lot different.

Both USC and UCLA, two Pac-12 schools, announced Thursday night that they will jump ship to the Big Ten beginning in 2024.

The official announcement comes after Pac-12 reporter Jon Wilner initially reported the two teams were planning to switch conferences, which sent shockwaves across social media.

According to The Athletic‘s Nicole Auerbach, Big Ten presidents and athletic directors met Wednesday night to discuss the potential move. Additionally, Bruce Feldman reported that UCLA and USC reached out to the Big Ten about switching conferences.

This past August, the Big Ten, ACC, and Pac-12 agreed to form an alliance that would impact future scheduling. However, ESPN’s Pete Thamel is now reporting that the alliance is all but over after the Big Ten took two of the Pac-12’s teams.

This marks the second consecutive summer that realignment has sparked a massive change in the college sports landscape. Last summer, the SEC announced that Texas and Oklahoma will join its conference beginning in 2025.

More groundbreaking realignment could be on the horizon in the future. According to Auerbach, she spoke with someone who believes the Big Ten and SEC will turn into two megaconferences with over 20 members apiece.

When USC and UCLA officially enter the Big Ten, they’ll do so with just 16 combined all-time games against Penn State. The Nittany Lions own a 4-6 and 2-4 record against USC and UCLA, respectively.

The last time Penn State played either team was in the 2017 Rose Bowl when it lost 52-49 to USC. The Nittany Lions’ most recent matchup against UCLA was a 21-6 win in 1968.

The Big Ten hasn’t had a team join its conference since 2014 when Rutgers left the ACC to become the 14th team in the Big Ten. Now, in just two years, UCLA and USC will become the conference’s 15th and 16th teams.

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About the Author

Gabe Angieri

Gabe is a senior majoring in journalism and is Onward State's managing editor. He grew up in Lindenhurst, New York, and has had the absolute misfortune of rooting for the Jets, Mets, and Knicks. If you want to see his bad sports takes, follow him on Twitter @gabeangieri and direct all hate mail and death threats to [email protected]

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