They hold the purse strings and have already blocked funding for things like... oh, public employees travel expenditures to other states that are viewed to be anti-LGBTQ such as... say, Ohio.

My initial surprise wasn't that USC was jumping to the Big Ten, it was the Big Ten invited UCLA. How are they worth the headache of the UC Regents and CA State Assembly? USC dominates viewership in SoCal. USC must have required UCLA be added. Nothing else makes sense.

Just for fun, imagine UCLA getting left behind. Given the politics involved, it is hard to picture UCLA, Cal, Stanford, UW, or Oregon going to the Big XII. Where does that leave them? In a dead PAC conference. I think there will be enormous political pressure on the Big Ten to add Cal, Stanford, UW, and Oregon. Arizona and ASU go to the Big XII. That is assuming this isn't the beginning of another massive realignment in college sports.