This post was updated July 28 at 9:57 p.m.

No other Big Ten programs will travel as many miles as the players that call the Rose Bowl home.

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule welcomed UCLA football to its new conference during the 2024 Big Ten Football Media Days at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, but he noted concerns about adjustments for the Bruins and the three other former Pac-12 teams.

“(You have to) play, and then travel maybe five or six hours, and then play again the next week,” Rhule said. “You might play one week, and it might be 85 degrees – and you might play next week up in Madison, Wisconsin, and it might be really, really, really cold.”

Rhule’s comments weren’t without basis: UCLA will travel more than 22,000 miles during the 2024 regular season, per Bookies.com – nearly 5,000 miles more than second-place Washington. The number is exacerbated by the Bruins’ season opener in Honolulu; a non-conference game in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and games at both Penn State and Rutgers.

Even Penn State coach James Franklin said he is communicating with other college and NFL teams about navigating his team’s upcoming cross-country travel.

But the extensive travel hasn’t fazed UCLA coach DeShaun Foster.

“LSU and Hawaii – we won’t be in school for those two games,” Foster said. “Penn State and Rutgers will be during the school year, but it’s part of the game. If you want to play big-time ball, you’re going to have to travel. You’re going to have to go to new stadiums and hostile environments.”

Rising senior defensive lineman Jay Toia said the long-distance travel and time zone adjustments are part of being an elite athlete.

“You look at an NFL schedule – they’re doing way more,” Toia said. “That’s what we’re trying to do – is get ready for the next level.”

Toia added that teams such as Hawaiʻi regularly schedule travel between Honolulu and the continental United States – suggesting that UCLA should be largely unaffected by increased time in the air.

Quarterback Ethan Garbers said UCLA’s game at Beaver Stadium – scheduled to be Penn State’s annual Stripe Out game – is circled on his calendar.

“I’m looking forward to playing at Penn State, for sure. That’s going to be a great time,” the rising redshirt senior said. “I hope the crowd is loud and we have a good time.”

Rising redshirt junior J.Michael Sturdivant said he’s looking forward to playing against the Huskies in his home state of Washington – an opportunity the wide receiver wouldn’t have received if he had stuck with the Atlantic Coast Conference-bound California instead of transferring to UCLA ahead of the 2023 season.

By the end of Wednesday’s media festivities, Foster turned to selling his future opponents on the opportunity to travel to UCLA.

“The Rose Bowl is going to be fun,” Foster said. “They should come out here and take in Los Angeles and treat it like a vacation – … get on Birds and ride them around LA.”