ESPN insider reveals Pac-12 officials were 'blindsided' by USC, UCLA overture to Big Ten

UCLA and USC stunned college sports this afternoon with a report that they intend to leave the Pac-12 to join the Big Ten in 2024. Jon Wilner was first to report the move before SI’s Ross Dellenger doubled down on the new information.

ESPN senior writer Heather Dinich joined SportsCenter to discuss the details of the report. There’s still a process to go through but she says a source confirmed that it’s already in the works

“I can tell you that a source confirmed the report. There’s still a formal notification process, meaning USC and UCLA have to let the Pac-12 officially know that they would intend to leave,” said Dinich. “They also have to officially apply to the Big Ten conference. A source said that that process is actually underway.”

FOX’s Bruce Feldman reported that it was the pair of schools who initially reached out to the Big Ten. There is plenty of legal red tape to work through but everything indicates the two schools are prepared to make the groundbreaking shift. This came so far out of left field that Danich says the Pac-12 and commissioner George Kliavkoff were completely caught off guard by the news.

“The other thing about this is that all indications are that the Pac-12 is completely blindsided by this,” said Danich on ESPN. “I was speaking to George Kliavkoff, their commissioner, throughout this week. July 1 is his one-year anniversary and he’s in Montana on vacation. He was trying to be off the grid this week. There was no indication that he saw any of this coming in multiple conversations I had with him.”

The process of their addition and the location of the two schools leave a lot of questions to be answered. Still, the Big Ten would be more than willing to make things work. The opportunity to add interested schools with the name recognition of the Bruins and Trojans don’t come around every day. Even with plenty to be sorted out, this is the latest massive domino to fall on the college sports landscape.