CJ Stroud comments on Big Ten expansion as West Coast kid

Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud had his pick of elite college football programs to join coming out of high school as the No. 3 QB prospect in 2020. Despite good in-state options, he chose to leave his home state of California to join the Buckeyes in the Big Ten because he believed it would better prepare him for the next level.

Now that two Pac-12 powerhouses, USC and UCLA, are set to join the Big Ten, Stroud believes it benefits players like him from the West Coast that may be apprehensive about leaving home.

“For me, in high school, I wanted to get out of the West, and there wasn’t anything wrong with the schools out there, I just wanted to play against other competition and try to make it as hard as possible for myself,” Stroud said during his press conference on Thursday.

“I definitely think that’s a good thing the Big Ten is doing. I didn’t want to play in the Pac-12 and me coming out all the way out here was tough, but now that they’re combining coast to coast, whatever the case may be, it’s definitely promising for the West Coast kids to be able to go to the other coast to play… It’s inviting to have some other California dudes on your team already… I think that California connection will stay strong at Ohio State.”

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New additions help Big Ten land massive new deal

On Thursday, the Big Ten officially announced its new, historic media rights deal. The conference’s games will air across multiple networks, including CBS, FOX, NBC and NBC’s Peacock.

According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, the new seven-year agreement will “begin July 1, 2023, and run through the end of the 2029-30 athletic year.”

Additionally, the college football insider writes the Big Ten is “set to bring in more than $7 billion” over the course of the agreements.

“Specific terms were not disclosed, but a financial windfall won’t come immediately, according to media sources,” added Thamel. “The CBS payout in Year 1 of the agreement is lower since it still will be carrying SEC games during the 2023 season, and will air only seven Big Ten contests that fall.

“But the Big Ten’s per-school distribution will slope upward in Year 2 of the deal, when new members USC and UCLA enter the Big Ten. Revenue will rise substantially beginning in Year 3.”