UCLA was heavily in debt before joining the Big Ten

UCLA received financial stability from the conference's extensive media rights package, which far exceeded the Pac-12's guarantee.

The Bruins have long served as the Pac-12's flagship team, but the financial pressures facing every athletic department in the new reality of college sports – and helped by rampant spending – outweigh sentiment and loyalty.

“You have to be dynamic and adaptable, otherwise you will fall significantly behind,” Jarmond said. “If you're too attached to the past in terms of moving forward, you're not going to be as competitive as you need to be. And honestly, your brand won’t be what it should be. You have to move with the times.”

Jarmond said he began thinking about realignment options in 2021 after Texas and Oklahoma announced their intentions to withdraw from the Big 12 and move to the SEC.

Jarmond previously served in leadership positions in the athletic departments at Michigan and Ohio State for 15 years, so he was familiar with the conference's operations. The Power Five were gradually reduced in terms of financial resources to the Tower Two – Big Ten and SEC – and that gap only seemed to widen.

“You really had to pay attention to what was going on,” Jarmond said. “It was a pretty seismic, chaotic time in this business. Texas and Oklahoma leaving the Big 12 kind of opened people's eyes, but if you watched, I'm sure people had to think about their futures.”