The UCLA Bruins are heading to the Big Ten next year as part of a massive wave of conference re-alignment in college athletics, but it doesn’t sound like UCLA men’s basketball head coach Mick Cronin is necessarily a big fan of the move.
During a recent interview with USA Today, Mick Cronin made it clear that he doesn’t think the move to the Big Ten is in the best interest of the actual college athletes. Instead, he thinks the decision was entirely driven by money.
“None of it is in the best interest of the student-athlete, no matter what anybody says,” Cronin said. “It’s in the best interest of more money to cover the bills. That’s it.
“This all happened because of money, that’s just a reality. It’s not all because of football.”
And Cronin does not think this is the end of schools making radical moves to try to secure as much money as possible, because he thinks athletic programs will soon have to share that money with the athletes.
“Where’s this going to be in five years when whenever the ruling comes down, you got to pay the revenue players? Then where’s that money coming from?” Cronin said. “We’ve already exhausted all the media rights money.”
They’re certainly some blunt comments from Cronin.
