UCLA Faculty Association: Big Ten Affair: If it quacks like a negotiation...

We noted yesterday that the Regents in their public review of UCLA's move to the Big Ten didn't really discuss that topic.* They discussed USC's move to the Big Ten - over which they have no control - and they discussed what policies should govern major athletic decisions going forward. But no one from UCLA was present. Nobody from UCLA was asked about the decision.

After the closed session - which was justified as closed because of "litigation" (that so far doesn't exist), the former chair of the Regents and the current chair made statements about their authority to override UCLA's decision. First, as a matter of practice, it is very rare for the Regents to order someone to do something. We are talking about the Regents firing Clark Kerr and Angela Davis, back in the day. Are they really prepared to do something like that now? Second, it remains unclear what commitments UCLA has already made and whether a command from on high to void the deal would lead to "litigation." So, yes, the Regents could technically order Chancellor Block to void the deal. He could then either comply or quit. You don't need an opinion from the UC general counsel to know that simple fact. But what kind of fallout would result from a high-handed regental decision? It wouldn't be pleasant.

So what is this brouhaha about? To yours truly, it walks like a negotiation and it quacks like a negotiation, albeit one that is partly being conducted in public - through statements to the news media - and partly in private. UCLA representatives may not have been at the Regents meeting, at least at the public segment. But surely there has been some level of communication behind the scenes. The way conflicts which are essentially about money are often settled is by money changing hands. Could that mean some kind of revenue sharing? Could it mean that UCLA ends up sharing some of the spoils of the move to the Big Ten with Berkeley and maybe other campuses?

The LA Times carries a story about public statements by the Regents and a warning from a long time UCLA operative, John Sandbrook, that there could be litigation if the deal were to be voided:

After the end of a closed session spanning more than an hour, regent John Perez told The Times that the regents retained the power to block UCLA’s move. “All options are on the table,” he said. Did that mean options could be pursued that would prevent the Bruins from joining cross-town rival USC as the newest members of the Big Ten starting in the summer of 2024? “All options are on the table,” Perez repeated, “up to and including that. … We’re going to look at what all the different options look like and then the board will assert itself in terms of what its desired outcome is.” ...

Richard Leib, the chair of the board, affirmed his power after the end of the meeting. “We always have the ability to retain authority,” he said, “which is what we heard today.” ...

Full story at https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2022-08-17/ucla-big-ten-move-uc-impact.

Any attempt by the University of California regents to block UCLA’s move to the Big Ten could endanger the way the governing body does business, according to a former chief of staff of a UC president. John Sandbrook, who was chief of staff to former UC President Mark Yudof and a longtime UCLA assistant chancellor under Charles Young, told The Los Angeles Times that the regents trying to thwart a business transaction properly made by a university chancellor under his delegation of authority could have a chilling effect on future transactions of any type with a third party for all 10 UC campuses. “Other members of the Board of Regents need to stop and think about that for a moment,” said Sandbrook, who attended more than 100 regents meetings and wrote dozens of agenda items for the board each year from 1974 to his retirement from the UC in 2010.

Two regents told The Times on Wednesday that they believed their governing body retained the authority to prevent UCLA from leaving the Pac-12 in 2024, though they stopped short of saying that authority would be exercised...

Should the regents rescind UCLA’s defection, Sandbrook said, he wondered if the Big Ten could sue them for interfering with their new multibillion-dollar media contract that was agreed upon with the understanding that UCLA would soon be a member of the conference...

Full story at https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2022-08-18/blocking-ucla-move-to-big-ten-could-have-fallout-for-uc-regents.

For now, it's best to remember the old Winston Churchill quote:

"To jaw-jaw is better than to war-war."

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*http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2022/08/watch-regents-off-cycle-special-meeting.html.

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