SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – A frustrated California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he was never consulted by UCLA about the school's sudden decision to transfer its athletic teams to the Big Ten Conference and he is having ongoing discussion with other UC regents about their potential courses of action.
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Newsom, in an interview with KTTV in Los Angeles which aired on Thursday, was visibly disgruntled when asked about UCLA and USC's stunning plan to move their sports teams from the Pac-12 Conference to the Big Ten in 2024.
"I read about it. Is it a good idea? Did we discuss the merits or demerits? I’m not aware that anyone did," Newsom, who is chair of the Regents of the University of California, the governing board of the 10 UC schools, told the station. "It was done in isolation, it was done without any regental oversight or support, it was done without any consideration to my knowledge."
Newsom claimed the first time he heard about the shocking move was when he read it in the newspaper.
"I have strong opinions about this, for no other reason that as a member of the regents, we were never consulted, never asked for an opinion and they never even had the decency to provide heads up," Newsom said. "So trust me when I say this: We're not going to be looking into it. We already are looking into it within minutes of reading this in the newspaper."
The UC Board of Regents is scheduled to discuss UCLA’s move during a closed session next Thursday, according to their agenda posted online.
A spokesperson for the UC Office of the President told the San Jose Mercury News that the regents have no authority to prevent UCLA's move. They said UC President Michael Drake was informed about discussions between the university and the Big Ten, but was never involved.
The two schools' departures to the Big Ten, which became official on June 30, is expected to have significant and potentially catastrophic ramifications throughout the rest of the conference. According to the paper, the conference’s revenue could be chopped by 40 to 50% starting in the 2024-25 school year as a result of the conference losing the Los Angeles media market. Consequently, Cal could lose more than $10 million annually and may not be able to continue supporting some of their 30 sports teams, the paper said.
Newsom added that UCLA's departure will have far reaching impact not just within the 10 UC schools, but also to other universities including Stanford and the Cal State system.
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