UC Regents approves Calimony, UCLA to send Cal $10 million a year through 2027

The California Golden Bears get a crucial revenue lifeline in $30 million from the Bruins for damages caused by their Big Ten deal.

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Calimony is official. The UC Regents voted and officially approved a three-year plan for UCLA to send $10 million to Cal annually, and will revisit the subject in 2027. That will mean $30 million all to the Golden Bears.

While the initial deal was set at six years, the official Regents discussion had pushback on the length of the deal. The compromise is a revisit of the subject in three years.

For those wondering why this is happening, here are the Cliff Notes.

• There was an expected Pac-12 TV deal coming at the end of 2024 that was likely to net a reasonable $40-50 million. It would lag behind the Power 2 conferences in the Big Ten and the SEC, but was likely to be substantial enough to keep all conference members in a healthy and stable situation.

• In 2022, UCLA and USC secretly began negotiating with the Big Ten, and to the surprise of the entire conference, announced their departure in 2024. This led to a series of events that dissolved the Pac-12 as we knew it. UCLA will net $65 million a year in this new arrangement.

• Cal would eventually have to accept a much lower TV deal with the ACC, as they were the last members to depart the conference without an obvious home. Part of Cal accepting a reduced ACC deal was likely contingent on the concept of Calimony.

• UCLA and UC Berkeley are part of the University of California system. While most campuses have autonomy in most of their decision-making, all financial moves generally have to be approved by the UC Regents, the governing body of the University of California system. UCLA making such a move, on their own, was unprecedented.

• This chain of events angered many high-ranking officials in the UC system and the state of California, including Governor Gavin Newsom.

• This led to the proposal of Calimony to buffer the rough waters Cal would have to trod. It’s a win-win situation, as the UC system will have more money, UCLA will have way more money, and Cal will have enough money to mitigate damage done to the department.

• The UC President then officially recommended a $10 million annual payment through 2030, based on the difference between a proposed Pac-12 TV deal and what UCLA received from the Big Ten.

Regardless, it's a very critical $30 million to buffer the very uncertain future of Cal Athletics. The $10 million a year provides a huge relief from the diminished ACC TV deal, which will net about $8-10 million or so from the 30% share agreed upon for the first seven years. There are additional benefit clauses from the expanded playoff that should net every ACC team about $13 million more, which will allow Cal to stay afloat at an average of $31 to $33 million a year for the next three years.

And it should also be noted that even though Calimony is only coming for three years, the subject will be revisited then, and it’s hard to see Cal and UCLA not being in the same situation. You could see more payments being approved.

Or the whole college football world could be in upheaval, and we might be back on the realignment circle. Or Cal could take itself seriously and really start getting its act together in terms of endowments, fundraising and getting really good at football and men’s basketball to increase their value. You never know these days.

Thanks to our UCLA siblings for the helping hand during these trying times.