UCLA legend Bill Walton said Tuesday he does not support the Bruins' proposed move to the Big Ten, and his "hope and dream" is that the move "will be rescinded."
Walton provided a written statement to longtime Oregon columnist John Canzano. In it, he expressed disappointment at his alma mater's potential move from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten.
"I am not in favor of UCLA's recent announced decision to leave the Pac-12 Conference of Champions," Walton wrote, "nor their desire to join the Big 10[.] I don't like this attempted move, I don't support it, I hope it does not happen[.]
"I don't believe that joining the Big 10 is in the best interest of UCLA, its students, its athletes, its alumni, its fans, the rest of the UC system, the State of California, or the world at large."
Walton cites the increased cost and increased travel for student-athletes as one of the main reasons behind his feelings, also saying that it's "all about football, and money."
"I went to UCLA - gladly, willingly, and proudly, it was my dream, that dream never included the Big 10," Walton wrote, "I have spoken to no one, other than the highest-level directors of athletics at UCLA, who think that this proposed move to the Big 10 is a good idea."
"My hope and dream is that this proposed move by UCLA, my alma mater, will be rescinded," he added.
Walton was one of the greatest college basketball players of all time, winning three consecutive National Player of the Year awards from 1972-74, while also leading UCLA to two national championships. The Bruins went 86-4 during Walton's time in Westwood, winning his first 73 college games.
He went on to be selected first overall in the 1974 NBA draft and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.
