Opinion: Why UCLA quitting the Pac-12 hurts student athletes and Cal

It’s no secret that college sports is a multibillion-dollar business that mostly ignores the needs of student athletes. That’s why I authored a 2019 law that made California the first state to give college athletes the right to earn money from their name, image and likeness.

I am not naïve when it comes to colleges prioritizing the business of their athletics department over students. But UCLA’s recent decision to leave the Pac-12 and join the Big Ten in order make more money represents a new low.

UCLA is one of the flagship campuses of the University of California, arguably the nation’s finest public university system. UCLA should be expected — and counted on — to put its students first and to factor how its decisions may impact sister UC campuses. For example, UC Berkeley, also in the Pac-12, stands to lose millions of dollars in TV revenue each year because of the decision by UCLA — and USC — to take the valuable Los Angeles television market to the Big Ten.

For the full op-ed, click here.