The 2024-25 season was the first year for the UCLA Bruins in the Big Ten Conference after being one of the main stalwarts in the old Pac-12. The Bruins were actually fairly successful in their first season in a new conference, compiling a record of 13-7. Last season was also the sixth season since Mick Cronin has been at the helm for UCLA. While there have been endless debates as to whether or not the move was a good thing, Mick Cronin does see advantages to UCLA playing in the Big Ten, as he mentioned during a recent appearance on Andy Katz’s show, ‘The Sideline with Andy Katz.’
“The challenge of it. It reminded me of my days in the old Big East. I think it’s very different than the Pac-12 for two reasons. We played everybody twice, and you also played on the same days, which I thought really hurt our exposure,” Cronin said. “Your whole conference is playing on Thursday night and Saturday. So basically there’s five days a week where there’s no Pac-12 basketball.”
“And meanwhile the Big Ten is playing six days a week, and sometimes seven days a week. I think we played on every day of the week last year. . .The exposure for your players and your program is better,” Cronin continued. “And I think the other challenging thing for me, is going against new coaches. . .you only live once, it’s neat to be able to play in some arenas you’ve never played in.”
With the start of the 2025-26 season just a few months away, Mick Cronin and UCLA are looking like one of the better teams in the Big Ten. The Bruins were bolstered by several high-profile transfer additions such as Donovan Dent and Xavier Booker. Although the Bruins lost several key players to the portal such as Dylan Andrews, Aday Mara, Sebastian Mack and William Kyle III, the new additions combined with the returners gives the Bruins a solid roster.
