The UCLA Bruins are just in their third season as a Big Ten Conference football team. Just a few years after being added to the conference UCLA has a chance to participate in the final Big Ten championship game.
The Big Ten Conference announced on Monday that the 2026 Big Ten Conference championship game will be the last. An expanded College Football Playoff field has erased the need for the championship game, with the game potentially causing more harm than good for Big Ten teams eyeing a playoff run. It's not a Big Ten thing either, with all Power Four conferences set to end their championship games starting in 2027.
Big Ten Conference commissioner Tony Petiti released a statementto accompany the Big Ten’s decision to cancel the Big Ten championship
game beginning in 2027.
“As we look ahead to a new College Playoff format, the Big Ten Conference is deeply grateful to the city of Indianapolis, the Indiana Sports Corp, Lucas Oil Stadium and the hundreds of thousands of fans who helped make the Big Ten football championship game a marquee event each season since its inception in 2011,” Petiti said. “We look forward to our final Discover Big Ten football championship game on Dec. 5 and maintaining our strong relationship with Indianapolis as we host future Big Ten championships across our sports portfolio in the city.”
With the expansion of the College Football Playoff allowing more teams and fan bases access to the postseason, this year's Discover Big Ten Football Championship Game will be the 16th and final.
— Big Ten Conference (@bigten) November 9, 2026
More info: https://t.co/swb4NqyFsp pic.twitter.com/EifNfAkFq4
UCLA kicked off their tenure with two disappointing seasons but things changed dramatically in 2026. Bob Chesney has the Bruins at 9-0, giving them an inside track to reach the championship game. The Bruins are the only Big Ten team without a conference loss, with the Indiana Hoosiers being the only team with one loss. Oregon, Ohio State, Iowa, Wisconsin, USC and Illinois are all within striking distance with two Big Ten losses.
To simplify things, if UCLA wins two of their last three regular season games (facing Illinois, Michigan and USC) then the Bruins will play in the final Big Ten championship game.
It’d be a bit odd for a school from California to be playing in the last-ever Big Ten title game but at this point, anything less would be a disappointment for Chesney’s team, especially if UCLA’s potential misfortunes led to a playoff berth for rival USC.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: UCLA football has a chance to appear in the final Big Ten title game
