The Big Ten has made it a point to expand its midwest boundaries over the past decade.
A conference that once debated whether or not to stretch to add a wildly valuable Penn State program in 1990 extended its reach in the early 2010s. First came Nebraska from the Big 12, a logical addition for a league that had already established outposts across the Mississippi River in Minnesota and Iowa. Maryland and Rutgers followed three years after, sniping major media markets away from the AAC and ACC in an expansion to the East Coast.
But none of those moves could have adequately prepared the college sports world for what could reportedly happen next.
NEWS: USC and UCLA are in conversations to join the Big Ten conference, a source tells @TheAthletic.@wilnerhotline on it first.
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) June 30, 2022
USC and UCLA, both located in Los Angeles, are reportedly in the midst of ditching the Pac-12. By adding the Trojans and Bruins as its 15th and 16th members, the Big Ten would solidify its standing as a premier destination for college sports, insulate itself against defections created by the continuing consolidation of power conferences, and push the value of its television rights into a new stratosphere.
It would also increase travel costs. By a lot.
Before Penn State joined the league, the farthest distance between any two Big Ten teams (Minnesota and Ohio State) was 726 miles. In 2021, this distance was the 1,286 miles between Nebraska and Rutgers.
In 2024, reportedly the earliest date these additions could jump ship, the 2,797 miles between UCLA and Rutgers — a 41-hour drive, per Google Maps! — would now be a regular trip for conference games.
So how far would the Big Ten’s newest potential additions have to travel to see each of their 14 new rivals? Here’s the driving distance from Los Angeles to each, sorted from shortest trip to longest.
