At times, Marta Suárez, a women’s basketball player for California, would find herself starting her homework while flying above the Bay Area and then wrapping up the assignment somewhere over the Great Plains. The Stanford men’s basketball team also relied heavily on the charter plane’s internet to manage their coursework during cross-country flights as they navigated their new status in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
Amid the realignment of college programs nationwide, the ACC and Big Ten have found themselves particularly burdened. Both conferences now operate across all four U.S. time zones, stretching between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. This overhaul has led to longer hours in the air, substantial time away from campus, and unexpected travel complications. However, these changes haven’t necessarily translated into success, especially in terms of victories.
As of Thursday, men’s and women’s teams in the ACC and Big Ten won only about 30.6% of their games (38-86) involving travel from the Eastern to the Pacific time zone or vice versa. If it weren’t for the undefeated record of top women’s teams like USC and UCLA in the Big Ten during conference play against Eastern teams, the winning percentage would plummet to 25.9%. This performance reflects the secondary focus placed on basketball in a sports landscape dominated by football.
UCLA men’s basketball coach Mick Cronin publicly criticized the Big Ten travel schedule, accusing it of being financially motivated, noting in January, “We’ve sold our soul to television.” Similarly, USC coach Eric Musselman commented on the adverse travel impacts by stating, “We’re in the hole two to four games based on travel, and it’s going to be like that forever for men’s basketball.”
In the ACC, only a pair of teams managed to travel west – namely the 14th-ranked North Carolina women’s team and Wake Forest men’s team – and claim victory against both Cal and Stanford. Meanwhile, Big Ten teams have either contended with the Pacific Northwest doubleheader featuring Washington and Oregon, or faced a Southern California slate against UCLA and USC. The Maryland women’s team, Michigan men’s team, and Purdue men’s team are the only ones to have succeeded in winning both games during a single trip.
This extensive travel demands greater endurance and planning as student-athletes juggle lengthy flights, time zone changes, rest, recovery, academics, all while keeping a competitive edge with barely adjusted body clocks. The California team traveled about 18,015 miles during the regular season, which included five flights exceeding 2,100 miles each. The ACC Tournament in North Carolina added another 4,640 miles round trip – a stark difference from the shorter journeys to Las Vegas or Seattle for the Pac-12 Tournament.
N.C. State women’s basketball coach Wes Moore empathized with the challenge, saying, “I feel for them, because they’re doing it about four times, we’re doing it once or twice every four years, so it’s a little different.” Cross-country trips usually mean loss of several classroom days, and there’s always the risk of bad weather or refueling stops, adding to the difficulty of ensuring sufficient sleep.
Suárez, a senior forward hailing from Spain, shared her perspective: “It wasn’t that bad. There’s a lot of talk about it and it makes sense … but we’re young girls, we’re competitive, we’re excited about playing basketball and that adds to it.” She emphasized the team’s investment in their physical wellbeing, likening long flights to simply watching a couple of movies for someone used to lengthy travel.
In his time as an assistant at Louisiana Tech, Wake Forest men’s coach Steve Forbes became accustomed to the extensive travel demands of competition in the Western Athletic Conference, which extended as far as Hawaii in the early 2000s. So, he had some idea of what was in store for his team. After defeating Stanford on February 5, Wake Forest’s trip was capped with practice, sightseeing at Alcatraz Island, and a successful game at California. Nevertheless, delayed flights during their return created chaos, though coincidentally, a private plane belonging to a Wake Forest donor facilitated the return for several players and coaches. The rest of the team made it back by early February 10. Forbes reflected on the journey: “I thought we were pretty well planned…If we had done the charter out and charter back, it would’ve been an A-plus because we got two wins.”
The Stanford men’s team, led by first-year coach Kyle Smith, managed to turn travel time into a bonding opportunity. Smith, familiar with long hauls from his previous coaching positions, remarked positively, “Honestly, it has been way better than we expected. Our guys have really bonded during the travel.” He observed how card games like spades filled the travel time while players kept up with their studies.
For the Cardinal, led by freshmen card-game victors Jaylen Blakes and Oziyah Sellers, as well as senior Maxime Raynaud’s appointed team singer Evan Stinson, the trips mean balancing work with fun and rest. Smith uses the downtime himself: “I take naps and listen to Mt. Joy.” Both he and Wes Moore of N.C. State compare today’s travel with past bus journeys, where seven-hour rides were the norm. “You think this was dangerous you ought to try that. Most people won’t even get in the car with me,” Moore joked, looking back at earlier travel challenges.
