Big Ten document sheds light on future scheduling

Since news broke last June that UCLA and USC will join the Big Ten, there have been questions about how the conference will approach its scheduling and operations as a 16-member, bicoastal conference. During one strategy call last summer, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith planned to “raise a couple concerns but am still supportive assuming a plan emerges to mitigate some operational concerns.”

A new document, obtained by On3 Tuesday from UCLA through a public records request, provides some insight into the conference’s potential approaches to scheduling.

Big Ten SVP of Television, Media Analytics and Emerging Platforms Kerry Kenny sent the document in an email to UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond last August.

“Per your request, I’ve attached a document that contains some of our initial thoughts on how we will create scheduling efficiencies beginning in 2024,” Kenny wrote.

Big Ten could schedule to allow multiple programs, schools to share flights

The document states, “The conference will work strategically with both UCLA and USC to determine a maximum/minimum preference of away trips on a sport-by-sport basis.” The Big Ten plans to sequence schedules to allow for schools to play multiple road games on the same trip.

An email UCLA assistant athletic director of travel operations Akemi Kitagawa Nishida sent to director of travel operations Gina Goryoka and executive senior associate athletic director and chief financial officer Christopher Iacoi said the commercial travel time to Champaign, Illinois, is nine hours, when factoring in rental cars from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. It’s 8.75 hours to fly commercially to Rutgers, according to the email.

A trip to Michigan was calculated to be 7.75 hours and Wisconsin is 9.5 hours via commercial air travel. For reference, Kitagawa listed Oregon State as a 7.5-hour trip via commercial air travel and Washington State at 9.75 hours. The latter two trips don’t include changes in time zones, obviously.

An info sheet provided in an email to UCLA’s head coaches on June 30 stated UCLA will provide priority enrollment to athletes to offer early access to courses “to manage their athletic and travel commitments around their academic interests.” The school will “maintain virtual academic support services via Zoom.”

The conference also plans to allow for multiple programs from the same school, or even competing schools, to share charter flights, if they so desire. One example listed is scheduling competitions in women’s volleyball and men’s and women’s soccer at the same two schools on the same weekend.

The Big Ten could also schedule programs at UCLA and USC to travel to the same region of the country if the two schools are willing to share charter flights. According to the document, the conference will explore using travel partners “where competition schedules permit.”

The info sheet provided to UCLA head coaches stated, “Resources offered by Big Ten membership may allow for more efficient transportation options.”

Big Ten could hold on-campus or neutral-site multi-team events

One idea included in the info sheet is multiple-team events at the same location. Those events could be held on campus or at neutral sites near major airports, such as Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis and Minneapolis.

The potential for on-campus events could include identifying “one or two campuses per year (rotating year-over-year) to allow multiple teams in the same sport to compete in multiple games at the same location on a single trip,” according to the info sheet. “This could apply across the conference, not just to UCLA/USC.”

It states that campus sites are the “preferred option” versus neutral sites.

The potential multiple-team events could be part of regular-season schedule rotations or “as mini in-season tournaments that would be created to drive additional exposure and competition.”

Lastly, the Big Ten could hold seasonal championships or tournaments at the same campus. The conference cited the 2021-22 academic year, when Rutgers hosted the women’s soccer and field hockey championships on the same day.

UCLA plans for new equipment and travel demands

UCLA Assistant Athletic Director, Equipment Services Derek Moos sent an email to Chief Strategy Officer Matt Elliott last July that included notes for the department regarding the transition to the Big Ten. One note was to explore best travel practices for “constant” cross-country travel, such as commercial versus charter flights.

The notes said every athlete and staff member should receive a parka in 2024. Athletes “should all get a good piece of Nike luggage,” too.

UCLA’s equipment department said the athletic department should increase its spending on non-Nike items because the equipment department staffers said there are better cold gear options, especially for outdoor Olympic sports, according to the notes. Athletes will have two sweatsuits for travel with one that’s thick and another that’s lightweight.

There were several suggestions specific to football. “Midwest grass is different than west coast grass so taking care of getting detachable cleats for all football (student-athletes),” the notes stated. The notes suggested buying heated benches and fans so that UCLA can avoid the rental expenses for those items.

Hand warmers, sideline parkers, sideline gloves, rain gloves and rain clipboards were also listed as items to consider purchasing.

The notes addressed the “driver issue” with UCLA’s equipment truck “because all road games will require two drivers.” The notes suggested buying a new rig or trailer and “making sure it’s good for cross country trips.”

In one document attached in an email prior to a meeting with representative from the California Legislative Analyst’s Office in which both the sender and recipient(s) were redacted, one talking point addressed “the reasoning behind UCLA’s decision to leave the Pac-12” as “Fiscal reasoning, positive impacts on our students athletes, etc.”