Treasured UCLA vs. Cal Football Rose Bowl Rivalry, Now a Thing of the Past, May Cost Bruins $10 Million a Year

University of California President Michael Drake will ask the Board of Regents next week to require UCLA to pay $10 million annually to University of California, Berkeley to bolster the finances of the Golden Bears’ athletic programs following the dissolution of the Pac-12 Conference.

The 2023 game between Cal and UCLA in the Rose Bowl “marked the final Pac-12 Conference matchup between the two teams” due to the impending conference realignment.

The dissolution was brought on by UCLA and USC’s 2022 decision to leave the Pac-12 in favor of the Big Ten Conference. Multiple other schools followed, also jumping to other conferences. Cal Berkeley eventually reached an agreement to move to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In late 2022, the University of California Board of Regents approved UCLA’s move to the Big Ten. That approval included a condition that UCLA make an annual payment to Berkeley ranging from $2 million to $10 million, generally offsetting losses in media rights suffered due to the Pac-12’s demise. The final figure was to be based on an analysis of media rights packages secured by UCLA in the Big Ten.

The California Golden Bears and UCLA Bruins had a long-standing football rivalry that dates back to 1933. One of the most significant aspects of this rivalry is their history of playing at the iconic Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena.

The Rose Bowl has hosted numerous matchups between Cal and UCLA over the years, with the first meeting taking place in 1933, which ended in a 0-0 tie. Since then, the two teams have faced off at the Rose Bowl on an annual basis, with the game alternating between Pasadena and Berkeley each year.

UCLA holds the overall advantage in the series, leading 57-35-1. However, Cal recently snapped a three-game losing streak against their in-state rival with a 33-7 victory over the Bruins at the Rose Bowl on Nov. 25, 2023. This game marked the final Pac-12 Conference matchup between the two teams, as UCLA is set to join the Big Ten Conference in 2024, while Cal will move to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In a report to the Board of Regents ahead of next week’s meeting, Drake’s office concluded that “there will be an approximately $50 million difference between UCLA’s Big Ten contract and University of California, Berkeley’s agreement with the ACC. As a result, the president is proposing that UCLA contribute $10 million a year to University of California, Berkeley, the top end of the range established by the Regents in December 2022.”

The annual payments would begin with the 2024-25 school year, and continue through the end of the 2029-30 year, representing the term of UCLA’s Big Ten media rights contract.

“In the event that there is a significant change in revenues and/or expenses for either campus, exceeding 10% over 2024-25 pro forma assumptions, UCLA’s contribution commitment will return to the Regents for further evaluation and potential action,” according to the University of California president’s office report.

The Board of Regents is scheduled to discuss the issue on Tuesday during its meetings at University of California, Merced.

The report estimated that the current Big Ten media rights deal will net UCLA nearly $60 million a year, while Berkeley will collect about $11 million per year during its first seven years in the ACC.

“Beyond UCLA’s contribution, Cal Athletics will continue to work diligently to be fiscally responsible, priding itself on being able to achieve excellence on and off the playing fields while operating the department in a cost-efficient manner,” according to the report. “In addition University of California, Berkeley is evaluating other solutions to address the financial gap. These include the development of new department revenue streams, additional philanthropic support, consolidating athletic scholarships to the campus Financial Aid and Scholarships Office, and an additional extraordinary payout from athletics-related endowed funds.”