Former USC football player places blame for USC, UCLA exits at feet of the Pac-12
In the wake of news that USC and UCLA are leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten, one former Trojan summed up what many in the USC fanbase seem to be feeling.
Jake Olson, a former long-snapper for the Trojans, placed the blame for the two departures squarely at the feet of the Pac-12. Olson tweeted a number of grievances while saying “something had to change and the Pac-12 didn’t seem like they were willing to.”
Only so many years can you take playing on the road on Friday nights, only so many times can you play at 7:30 PST in front of no national audience, only so many times you can deal with East Coast bias, something had to change and the PAC12 didn’t seem like they were willing to
— Jake Olson (@JakeOlson61) June 30, 2022
Exposure has been a big issue for the Pac-12 since former commissioner Larry Scott’s tenure ended. The Pac-12 Network doesn’t have the same kind of distribution network as some of its peers—the Big Ten Network, SEC Network for example—and that was said to be a major point of emphasis for current commissioner George Kliavkoff in the next round of media rights negotiations.
In the Big Ten, the Trojans stand to see their media rights payout increase substantially. During the 2021 fiscal year, the Pac-12 distributed $344 million among its 12 schools. The Big Ten dolled out almost $700 million to its 14 schools. And that number only figures to balloon once the Big Ten’s new media rights deal—currently being negotiated—kicks in.