USC and UCLA to be added to the Big Ten

{O/C} And in sports, the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles are slated to depart Pac-12 and join the Big Ten in 2024 with a vengeance.

{RVO}

The unanimous vote signifies the expansion to 16 teams, making the Big Ten the first conference to stretch across the pond.

All this, after Oklahoma and Texas accepted enticing intivitations to join the Southeastern Conference in July 2025.

The Big Ten is piggybacking off previous expansion into the nation's most influential media markets, putting it and the Southeastern Conference in the same league.

But a whiff of discouragement now wafts over Pac-12, which has long maintained a cordial relationship with the Big Ten.