SPORTS
A8 — THE OBSERVER
SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2022
Pac-12 on the brink of splitt ing apart
Big Ten votes to
add USC, UCLA
as new members
starting in 2024
By RALPH D. RUSSO
and ERIC OLSON
The Associated Press
ROSEMONT, Ill. — In a
surprising and seismic shift
in college athletics, the Big
Ten voted Thursday to add
Southern California and
UCLA as conference mem-
bers beginning in 2024.
The expansion to 16
teams will happen after
the Pac-12’s current media
rights contracts with Fox
and ESPN expire and make
the Big Ten the fi rst con-
ference to stretch from the
Atlantic to the Pacifi c.
The announcement,
which caught the Pac-12
off -guard, came almost a
year after Oklahoma and
Texas formally accepted
invitations to join the
Southeastern Conference in
July 2025.
Big Ten Commissioner
Kevin Warren said USC
and UCLA, both members
of the Pac-12 and its pre-
vious iterations for nearly
a century, submitted appli-
cations for membership
and the league’s Council of
Presidents and Chancellors
voted unanimously to add
the Los Angeles schools.
“Ultimately, the Big Ten
is the best home for USC
and Trojan athletics as we
move into the new world of
collegiate sports,” USC ath-
letic director Mike Bohn
said. “We are excited that
Mark J. Terrill/The Associated Press, File
UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, right, runs the ball in for a touchdown as Southern Cal linebacker Ralen Goforth defends on
Nov. 20, 2021, in Los Angeles. The two schools will move to the Big Ten in 2024, dealing a major blow to the Pac-12.
our values align with the
league’s member institu-
tions. We also will ben-
efi t from the stability and
strength of the confer-
ence; the athletic caliber
of Big Ten institutions; the
increased visibility, expo-
sure, and resources the con-
ference will bring our stu-
dent-athletes and programs;
and the ability to expand
engagement with our pas-
sionate alumni nationwide.”
The Big Ten is building
on previous expansion into
the nation’s largest media
markets, and the move
allows the conference to
Outlaws earn fi ve
state softball nods
By RONALD BOND
For The Observer
ENTERPRISE — Five
members of the Wal-
lowa Valley softball team
received recognition at the
all-state level after helping
the Outlaws to a 20-win
season and a spot in the
Class 3A state quarterfi nals.
Leading the way in the
all-state awards was soph-
omore Sophie Moeller,
who was honored as a sec-
ond-team infi eder. Moeller,
the team’s primary leadoff
hitter, posted a .474 batting
average in league play with
a home run, 12 RBIs and 20
runs scored.
Making the third team
as an infi elder was Cooper
Nave. Nave, also a soph-
omore, hit .559 with three
home runs, 15 RBIs and 15
runs scored. She hit all three
of her home runs in league
play in one day during a dou-
bleheader sweep of Nyssa.
Three additional players,
including two senior leaders
for Wallowa Valley, earned
honorable mention. Rilyn
Kirkland, the Outlaws’
catcher, hit .537 in league
and belted two home runs,
scored 20 times and tallied
25 RBIs.
Aimee Meyers, as an
infi elder, was also tabbed
honorable mention. In
league, the sophomore hit
.531 with 13 RBIs and 15
runs scored.
And in the pitcher’s circle,
senior Liz Rowley posted a
strong season, especially in
league play. Rowley fi nished
league play with a record
of 6-1 and an ERA of 1.44.
She allowed just 18 hits in 39
innings, walked 15 batters
and struck out 61.
The fi ve players were
instrumental in the Outlaws
completing one of the best
seasons in the last decade.
Wallowa Valley posted
an overall record of 20-8,
including 10-2 in league
play, and won the program’s
fi rst playoff game since 2014
with a 9-7 opening-round
win over Dayton. The team
recorded eight shutouts and
half of its eight losses were
to the teams who met in the
3A state title game — Burns
and Yamhill Carlton.
Former Imbler standout
named a scholar athlete
By RONALD BOND
For The Observer
PERU, Neb. — A former
Imbler volleyball standout
was recently named a Heart
of America Athletic Con-
ference scholar athlete.
Haley Van-
Leuven, a
Peru State
College vol-
leyball player,
was among 45
student-ath-
letes from
VanLeuven
the Nebraska
college and more than
1,000 HAAC athletes to be
recognized.
Athletes had to meet
the following criteria to be
eligible:
• Maintain a 3.4 GPA
• Have at least 60 credit
hours of schooling com-
pleted and five semes-
ters, including at least two
from the school they were
nominated from
• Have documentation
of being a student-athlete
in the sport they are nomi-
nated for.
VanLeuven, a senior
studying pre-dental
hygiene, was among seven
members of the Bobcats
volleyball team to earn
recognition.
The outside hitter, who
in high school was an inte-
gral part of an Imbler team
that was the 2A state run-
ner-up in 2016, played in
21 matches during her
senior campaign for the
Bobcats, an NAIA pro-
gram that went 5-28 in
2021-22. She fi nished the
season with 79 kills, 22
digs and 15 blocks. Twice
in a match she reached 10
kills, including a high of
13 during a fi ve-set victory
over Southwestern in the
team’s third match of the
season.
keep pace with the SEC as
one of the most powerful
entities in college sports.
The Big Ten will gain
blueblood programs in foot-
ball (USC) and basket-
ball (UCLA) and big-name
brands that will enhance the
value of the conference’s
new media rights package
currently being negotiated.
Losing fl agship schools
like USC and UCLA is a
major blow to the Pac-12,
which has had a long and
amicable relationship with
the Big Ten best exem-
plifi ed by its Rose Bowl
partnership.
“While we are extremely
surprised and disappointed
by the news coming out
of UCLA and USC today,
we have a long and storied
history in athletics, aca-
demics, and leadership in
supporting student-athletes
that we’re confi dent will
continue to thrive and grow
into the future,” the Pac-12
said in a statement.
The Pac-12’s next move
is unknown, but adding
schools to replace USC and
UCLA is a possibility.
“We look forward to
partnering with current
and potential members to
pioneer the future of col-
lege athletics together,” the
Pac-12 said.
The Big Ten has
expanded twice in recent
years, with Nebraska
joining in 2011 and Mary-
land and Rutgers in 2014.
USC and UCLA fi t the
Big Ten’s academic profi le.
Both schools are among the
65 members of the Associ-
ation of American Univer-
sities, which is made up of
top research universities.
All Big Ten schools except
Nebraska are members.
“From increased expo-
sure and a broader national
platform for our stu-
dent-athletes, to enhanced
resources for our teams,
this move will help pre-
serve the legacy of UCLA
Athletics for generations
to come,” UCLA athletic
director Martin Jarmond
said.
“We have deeply valued
our membership in the
Pac-12, and we have great
respect for the conference
and our fellow member
institutions, but each school
faces its own unique chal-
lenges and circumstances.
We believe this is the right
move for UCLA at the right
time.”
USC and UCLA stand to
signifi cantly increase their
revenues. The Pac-12 dis-
tributed only $19.8 million
per school in fi scal year
2021, by far the least among
Power 5 conferences. The
Big Ten’s per-school distri-
bution was $46.1 million,
second only to the SEC’s
$54.6 million.
The Pac-12 has had dif-
fi culty getting its confer-
ence television network
untracked while the Big Ten
Network is the most estab-
lished of the conference
networks.
USC and UCLA would
be taking a step up in foot-
ball, both in visibility and
competition.
“Pac-12 After Dark”
televised games that kick
off in the middle to late eve-
nings in most of the country
have made it diffi cult for
the conference to get expo-
sure. The Pac-12 has had
teams in the College Foot-
ball Playoff just twice —
Oregon (2014 season) and
Washington (2016).
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