Conference realignment has been a big topic of conversation for head coach Lincoln Riley’s USC program. The Big Ten has been trying to protect itself from an unstable future, but USC has considered the possibility of going independent. Notably, Notre Dame is a program that has benefited from being independent in recent years.
On Thursday, insider Bruce Feldman appeared on “Mason & Ireland” and spoke about USC’s mindset as it considers the possibility of going independent.
“I think what this gets at is a lot of instability, and people inside the Big Ten are trying to protect themselves for a very unstable future,” Bruce Feldman said (Timestamp 1:15). “Since I moved out here, around the time Pete Carroll got things rolling at USC, there’s always been some thought among USC people that ‘we should go independent.’ They felt they didn’t need to be in the Pac-10 and get the same cut as Oregon State; they were driving the boat.”
The Big Ten Investment Deal Could be Bad for USC
The Big Ten is currently in the process of securing a $2.4 billion private investment deal. While most teams in the Big Ten are in favor of this deal, USC opposes it. The Trojans do not want to go through with the deal because they think they bring more value to the Big Ten than other smaller programs. As a result, they want a deal that would give them a bigger cut of the deal.
The deal would distribute the highest amount of funds to Penn State, Ohio State, and Michigan. There would then be a second financial tier for USC and Oregon, followed by a final tier for the remaining Big Ten teams.
The issue USC faces is that it is being treated like a second-tier program. The university does not want to sign the deal unless it is included in the first financial tier.
If USC continues to oppose the deal, it could further pursue the idea of going independent. This is not a route that many college football teams take, but it has worked for Notre Dame in recent years.
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