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Northwestern's women's basketball team will have to forfeit two of the games on its schedule after not traveling to Los Angeles during the devastating wildfires in January.
The Big Ten Conference announced Wednesday that Northwestern's games against UCLA on Jan. 12 and USC on Jan. 15 won't be rescheduled and instead will count as losses for the Wildcats and wins for the Southern California-based programs.
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People watch the smoke and flames from the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood on Jan. 7, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Tiffany Rose/Getty Images)
Northwestern athletics director Mark Jackson released a statement supporting his team's decision not to travel during the fires, and accepted the decision by the Big Ten.
"Northwestern Athletics accepts the decision by the Big Ten Conference to strictly apply the Conference bylaws as written, in issuing forfeits for missed competitions by Northwestern’s Women’s Basketball after the team’s decision not to travel to Los Angeles during the tragic wildfires in Southern California," Jackson wrote, per On3.
"While we acknowledge that bylaws and rules are in place for a reason and we will abide by them, it does not diminish this team’s sound reasoning for not participating during this natural disaster. We will continue to support our Women’s Basketball student-athletes and hope for a strong recovery for the Southern California region."
Southern California guard JuJu Watkins signs autographs after the Cal State Northridge game, Nov. 12, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
UCLA and USC, led by phenom JuJu Watkins, were already the two winningest teams in the conference so far this season. USC is in first place in the Big Ten with a 15-1 conference record as UCLA is in second at 14-1.
Meanwhile, Northwestern sits in 15th place with a 2-13 conference record, and is battling Purdue, Rutgers and Penn State for the final spot in the Big 10 tournament.
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The Sunset Fire burns in the Hollywood Hills area of Los Angeles on Jan. 8, 2025. (Jill Connelly/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The fires impacted multiple sporting events in the Los Angeles and Anaheim area during the month of January, including a playoff game between the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings, and Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers NBA games.
The city's local sports teams donated more than $8 million to support victims of the wildfires. Those teams included the Anaheim Ducks, Angel City FC, LAFC, LA Galaxy, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Sparks.
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Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He previously worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.
