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Report: George Kliavkoff sends letter to UC Board of Regents, 'would strongly support' reversal of UCLA decision to join Big Ten

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Genaro Molina | Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

The road to the Big Ten might have gotten even tougher for UCLA. First, the board of regents said it could stop the move, and now, Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff is getting involved.

Kliavkoff sent a three-page letter to the University of California Board of Regents to explain why the board should block UCLA’s move from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten, according to a report from The New York Times’ Billy Witz on Thursday. In the letter, Kliavkoff laid out multiple reasons why UCLA didn’t fully think through the consequences of the move, which was announced June 30.

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Kliavkoff cited multiple factors in his letter, which The New York Times obtained, including travel time and how travel costs could soar to as much as $23 million if UCLA continues to charter flights. He also said the departure could affect Cal because of the Pac-12 media rights deal.

In addition, Kliavkoff said although it’d be a “heavy ask,” he said “for the current and future generations of UCLA student-athletes, we would strongly support a decision by the UC Board of Regents to reverse the decision made by UCLA.”

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This isn’t the first time Kliavkoff has voiced his displeasure about USC and UCLA’s departures. He did so over the summer, as well, again addressing the financial component.

“It’s clear that UCLA and USC made a decision for short-term financial gain at the expense of their student-athletes,” Kliavkoff told The Athletic in August. “It’s 100 percent clear to me. It’s really unfortunate, and I think they are already regretting it, given the pushback that they’ve gotten from almost every corner of their communities. I think they will regret it more as time goes on.”

USC and UCLA announced their decisions to join the Big Ten over the summer, and the league recently announced its new media rights deal. FOX, CBS and NBC will all partner as part of the landmark agreement, which comes out to $7 billion over the course of the deal.