Mick Cronin slams Big Ten travel schedule for UCLA in all-time rant
Mick Cronin has always been a colorful character in front of the media, but when he was asked Friday night about whether the “wear and tear” on Big Ten teams traveling to Los Angeles was comparable to what has been experienced by UCLA and USC traveling east this season, he had an all-timer of a rant.
UCLA snapped a 4-game losing streak by blasting Iowa on Friday inside Pauley Pavilion, 94-70. It was the Bruins’ second home game in a month.
Over the first 11 games of the season, UCLA left California 3 times for a game. It went to Nevada for a matchup with New Mexico, it went to Eugene to face Oregon, and it went to Phoenix to face Arizona.
All familiar. The Bruins’ first 2 Big Ten conference games were against Washington and Oregon — both wins. Since winning on Dec. 17 to move to 10-1 on the year, UCLA has played in New York City, Nebraska, Maryland, and New Jersey. They are 2-5 during this recent stretch of back-and-forth travel across the country.
After Friday night’s game, a reporter asked Cronin about travel in the league, and about any potential wear and tear on teams coming west.
“Wear and tear on them? Is that a joke?” Cronin shot back incredulously. “Please tell me that’s a joke.”
Cronin cited an NBA trend of teams who travel west-to-east and urged the reporter to talk with USC head coach Eric Musselman about it.
“Good luck west going east,” Cronin said. “Ask me UCLA’s record east of the Mississippi (River) in the last 20 years. When I got the job, I looked it up for scheduling purposes. It’s under .500. We have to go back 4 times.
“Oh, the Big Ten teams get to come to Los Angeles where it’s 70 degrees one time a year. They don’t even have to switch hotels. We’re 12 miles apart. Are you kidding me? Please tell me you’re kidding me.”
Cronin then looked off to the side and asked if the question was planted.
“Meanwhile, we’ve seen the Statue of Liberty twice in the last 3 weeks while we were landing. We also saw the capitol building. And we’ve still gotta go back. And then we’ve got to go back for the Big Ten tournament. … I mean, he’s asking me to feel sorry because Iowa had to come to L.A. for a few days,”
Mick Cronin on UCLA's travel, and if other teams coming out west balances it out:
"Oh, a Big 10 team has to come to LA, where it's 70 degrees, once. You're asking me to feel sorry because Iowa had to come to LA for a few days? We've seen the Statue of Liberty twice in 3 weeks!" pic.twitter.com/NQgmenQvVY
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) January 18, 2025
UCLA’s schedule has been unforgiving in recent weeks, it’s true.
Four days before Christmas, they flew from L.A. to New York for a game against North Carolina in Madison Square Garden. (They lost by 2.) On Jan. 4, they played in Lincoln, Nebraska. On Jan. 10, they played in College Park, Maryland. Three days later, they flew to Piscataway, New Jersey.
But the next few weeks will offer a reprieve and possibly a chance for the Bruins to regain their footing.
From Jan. 21 through Feb. 23, UCLA will play 7 of 10 in Los Angeles. There’s a trip to Seattle on the docket for Jan. 24, and there’s a 4-day stretch in mid-February where they’ll play at Illinois and at Indiana.
The Big Ten tried to ease concerns on the West Coast teams with the league schedule this season. However, in a sport where teams play multiple games a week and in a league that has teams on opposite ends of the country, travel will occasionally be draining. This was the tradeoff.