Mick Cronin Bemoans Big Ten Scheduling, Claims League Doesn't 'Care About Basketball'

UCLA’s coach says cross-country travel and tight turnarounds show the Big Ten’s priorities.

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One might assume that UCLA head coach Mick Cronin would be all smiles on Tuesday night since his Bruins pulled off a home upset over No. 4 Purdue (69-67). Instead, Cronin bemoaned Big Ten scheduling again, claiming that the league doesn't "care about basketball."

"I want to thank the Big Ten for giving us five of our first seven on the road, bringing Purdue here on Thursday night when we don't get back in L.A. until Saturday night and giving us the team picked to win the league on two days' rest after five of our first seven on the road," Cronin said after the win, according to ESPN. "Really, I want to thank the Big Ten for that."

After a follow-up question, Cronin added: "I don't think they care about basketball, truly. That's just my opinion."

Note: Cronin said "bringing Purdue here on Thursday night" but appears to have misspoke. Purdue and UCLA played on Tuesday night at Pauley Pavilion. 

Scheduling certainly favored Purdue, given that UCLA played in Columbus against Ohio State on Saturday while the Boilermakers had been in Los Angeles since facing USC on Saturday. So the teams had equal rest, but one of them had to fly across the country prior to the game. And it wasn't the road team. 

UCLA Bruins head coach Mick Cronin reacts after a play in the first half against the Maryland Terrapins at Pauley Pavilion.

After UCLA’s upset of No. 4 Purdue, Mick Cronin blasted Big Ten scheduling, arguing the league doesn’t prioritize basketball amid coast-to-coast travel and condensed rest.

(Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Imagn Images)

That's the unfortunate consequence of conference expansion. The Big Ten, a conference traditionally confined to the midwestern United States, suddenly has multiple schools on the West Coast. 

To be fair to Cronin, he didn't exactly sign up for that. When he left Cincinnati to take the UCLA job in 2019, the Bruins belonged to the Pac-12. He signed a six-year contract extension in March 2022, three months before the Big Ten agreed to invite UCLA and USC to the conference. 

Still, it's not like Cronin isn't compensated very well to have his team prepared to play while traversing the United States throughout the fall and winter. His contract extension pays him $4.5 million per year, so his complaints are likely to fall on deaf ears. 

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Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to OutKick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named "Brady" because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.