Ohio State Football: California Gov. demands reasons for UCLA bolting for Big Ten

The Ohio State football team will have a new opponent in UCLA starting in 2024 once they join the Big Ten. UCLA comes over with USC in that venture. The Pac 12 was blindsided and wasn’t happy with the move, but the Big Ten should get more money from their media rights with them in the league.

California Governor Gavin Newsom is especially angry that UCLA is leaving, particularly because they are a public university part of the University of California system. He is demanding an explanation for why UCLA is leaving Cal Berkely out to dry.

Clearly, Newsome is angry that he is losing a public college in California to a league that is set in the Midwest. He can’t do anything about USC leaving because they are a private institution and don’t have to answer to anyone but themselves when making a decision like this.

UCLA could have a showdown on its hands. There have been talks about the Cal system trying to block UCLA from leaving the league, or if they do leave the league having to pay a large exit fee. Nothing substantial about that has happened quite yet.

It will be interesting to see what comes from this situation. I don’t think that there’s really anything they can do to stop what’s happening at this point. I’d be shocked if UCLA was stopped from leaving the Pac 12 for any reason. Even the fee they’d have to pay wouldn’t be a big issue.

We’ll keep an eye on this story for you. One I think I can say is that this will get a little dirtier before it gets better. There are still two full years before either of these schools can join the Big Ten, so a lot can happen between now and then.