[Spiny_Norman]

Quite frankly, I wish Stanford and Cal would have gotten in line in front of USC and UCLA.  The Big Ten would have been a great upgrade.

The deal for USC and UCLA to join the Big Ten was brokered by Fox Sports which put up the money to make it work. It was a business decision by Fox Sports which was then ratified by the Big Ten presidents. I don't think Stanford and Cal could ever have presented a business case to Fox Sports that would have been worth their while. In other words, Stanford and Cal never would have had a chance to join the Big Ten ahead of USC and UCLA.

Stanford's only chance would have come as Notre Dame's partner school if the Irish had decided to join the conference. That would have left Cal out in the cold however.

[Spiny_Norman]

Quite frankly, I wish Stanford and Cal would have gotten in line in front of USC and UCLA.  The Big Ten would have been a great upgrade.

The deal for USC and UCLA to join the Big Ten was brokered by Fox Sports which put up the money to make it work. It was a business decision by Fox Sports which was then ratified by the Big Ten presidents. I don't think Stanford and Cal could ever have presented a business case to Fox Sports that would have been worth their while. In other words, Stanford and Cal never would have had a chance to join the Big Ten ahead of USC and UCLA.

Stanford's only chance would have come as Notre Dame's partner school if the Irish had decided to join the conference. That would have left Cal out in the cold however.