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Wednesday, December 7, 2022

Big Ten: Letters and Emails

It seems that lots of letters and emails went back and forth after UCLA decided to join USC in moving to the Big Ten. Excerpts from The Athletic:

The day after USC and UCLA announced their intent to leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten, UCLA chancellor Gene Block wrote to University of Washington president Ana Mari Cauce to apologize for not giving prior notice — and said the decision to leave the conference was “personally anguishing,” per a copy of the letter obtained by The Athletic via records request...

Block, UCLA’s chancellor since 2007, is not considered to be particularly hands-on with athletics, one of the reasons why the Bruins’ exodus was more surprising than the Trojans’...

Block wrote to Cauce... “I wanted to send you a personal note to express my sincere apologies that I was unable to share information with you before the public announcement. I am truly sorry about this.

“This was an extremely difficult decision for UCLA — and personally anguishing. I and many others in our Bruin community greatly enjoy the traditions and friendly rivalries that exist within our conference. I want to express the deep respect that I have for you, our other Pac-12 colleagues, and for the conference leadership.”

Cauce responded, in part: “This was tough all around, but friendship first! You’ve been a great colleague, and often a mentor. That hasn’t changed and [I] look forward to continuing our dinners and dialogues at AAU, APRU* and maybe even the UW-UCLA game — there will be more to come.”

The same day Cauce received Block’s note about leaving the conference, Washington’s president also received an email from the leader of a potential Pac-12 expansion candidate: San Diego State president Adela de la Torre, who wanted to discuss “possible opportunities.” ...

Full story at https://theathletic.com/3962500/2022/12/02/ucla-usc-big-ten-realignment/.

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To hear the text above, click on the link below:




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*AAU = Amateur Athletic Union https://aausports.org/. APRU = Association of Pacific Rim Universities https://apru.org/.

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