PAC 12 IMPLOSION

[Gator]

The PAC is on the brink of extinction. USC and UCLA have bailed. The conference has NO TV contract which means that teams can leave WITHOUT PENALTY after the 2023 season. Colorado is bailing. Who's next? If ANYONE wants a PAC team NOW is the time to get them. Are the remnants going to merge with the Mountain West? PAC WEST CONFERENCE anyone? Is the Big 12 now "sorry" for expanding too early?

 

[bamagrad75]

BUT, they play a 9 game conference schedule!

 

[LoftonPack80]

Kinda sad...alot of history and tradition out the window.

That being said, they brought it on themselves

 

[Mebert]

Colorado was the bottom feeder team of the worst power 5 conference.

Pac 12 is still in trouble, but losing Colorado is easily the least concern.

Utah, Washington, and Oregon should all be looking to leave as well. Make it 4 16 team conferences and let the pac12 sink.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

The PAC is on the brink of extinction. USC and UCLA have bailed. The conference has NO TV contract which means that teams can leave WITHOUT PENALTY after the 2023 season. Colorado is bailing. Who's next? If ANYONE wants a PAC team NOW is the time to get them. Are the remnants going to merge with the Mountain West? PAC WEST CONFERENCE anyone? Is the Big 12 now "sorry" for expanding too early?

Big 12 had to expand or die, imo. And sooner rather than later.

Can't be waiting around for some PAC-Atlantic Frankenstein conference to form.

 

[PSUTE]

Colorado was the bottom feeder team of the worst power 5 conference.

Pac 12 is still in trouble, but losing Colorado is easily the least concern.

Utah, Washington, and Oregon should all be looking to leave as well. Make it 4 16 team conferences and let the pac12 sink.

And maybe Stanford as well to the B1G. Shore up the western half, UM, OSU and PSU dominate all from the east, and most importantly, to the presidents, good academic fits for the B1G academic alliance, all AAU members...

 

[trojanfan12]

I don't know if Larry Scott's plan was to destroy the conference...but if it was...he did a helluva job.

The problem for Oregon, UW and Utah is that there doesn't seem to be much interest from other conferences in having them join.

Interestingly, if they can somehow cobble together a halfway decent tv deal, that apparent lack of interest could be what saves the conference.

If they can keep Oregon, UW and Utah along with Stanford, Cal, Oregon St. and Wazzu, that's a decent group. If they can then bring in some teams that have wanted to be P5 for a while like SDSU and Boise, they could have a decent conference. They wouldn't be as good as the SEC or B1G, but they'd be right there with the ACC and Big 12. With Oregon and UW they'd also have 2 of the biggest "names" out of those 3 conferences.

If they could keep the AZ schools, that would also help. Although, rumor is that the Big 12 wants the AZ schools next.

If they lose Oregon, UW and Utah, they also likely lose the AZ schools. At that point, there best hope might be to try to bring in some mid-majors and basically become a G5 conference, if they don't just shut it down.

 

[bamagrad75]

I don't know if Larry Scott's plan was to destroy the conference...but if it was...he did a helluva job.

The problem for Oregon, UW and Utah is that there doesn't seem to be much interest from other conferences in having them join.

Interestingly, if they can somehow cobble together a halfway decent tv deal, that apparent lack of interest could be what saves the conference.

If they can keep Oregon, UW and Utah along with Stanford, Cal, Oregon St. and Wazzu, that's a decent group. If they can then bring in some teams that have wanted to be P5 for a while like SDSU and Boise, they could have a decent conference. They wouldn't be as good as the SEC or B1G, but they'd be right there with the ACC and Big 12. With Oregon and UW they'd also have 2 of the biggest "names" out of those 3 conferences.

If they could keep the AZ schools, that would also help. Although, rumor is that the Big 12 wants the AZ schools next.

If they lose Oregon, UW and Utah, they also likely lose the AZ schools. At that point, there best hope might be to try to bring in some mid-majors and basically become a G5 conference, if they don't just shut it down.

Just merge with the ACC and rename it to the Bi-Coastal Conference?

 

[wazzu31]

Just weird. Even if the conference implodes it’s a big step down going to the Big 12 for Oregon, Washington and Stanford. Much better for each to be independent and wait for the B1G to expand. Utah and the Arizona schools it makes sense with a lateral move.

 

[LoftonPack80]

Arizona looks to be the next leaving and sounds like the Big 12 also has eyes on Utah and Arizona State. Rumor started this morning about Oregon reaching out but it's just that right now...a rumor

 

[Duckboy33]

Arizona is going to the Big 12 next unless something drastic changes quickly.

At that point, the Big Ten will be given one last chance to add Washington and Oregon or they will join the Big 12 as 15 and 16. Big Ten may feel compelled to act quicker than they wanted to because UW/Oregon will have increased buyouts in order to leave the Big 12 during the next media cycle. It's also possible that they wait til next cycle, even if it's more costly and has more hurdles.

Big 12 will most likely add some combination of ASU, Utah and UConn as 15 and 16 if the Big Ten takes UO/UW.

 

[BamaDude]

I don't know if Larry Scott's plan was to destroy the conference...but if it was...he did a helluva job.

The problem for Oregon, UW and Utah is that there doesn't seem to be much interest from other conferences in having them join.

Interestingly, if they can somehow cobble together a halfway decent tv deal, that apparent lack of interest could be what saves the conference.

If they can keep Oregon, UW and Utah along with Stanford, Cal, Oregon St. and Wazzu, that's a decent group. If they can then bring in some teams that have wanted to be P5 for a while like SDSU and Boise, they could have a decent conference. They wouldn't be as good as the SEC or B1G, but they'd be right there with the ACC and Big 12. With Oregon and UW they'd also have 2 of the biggest "names" out of those 3 conferences.

If they could keep the AZ schools, that would also help. Although, rumor is that the Big 12 wants the AZ schools next.

If they lose Oregon, UW and Utah, they also likely lose the AZ schools. At that point, there best hope might be to try to bring in some mid-majors and basically become a G5 conference, if they don't just shut it down.

Getting any MWC school will be harder now that they have doubled their exit fee to $34 million (unless the Pac is willing to pay at least half of it). If the Pac wants to remain an academic conference they won't add Boise St. since their academics rankings are in the 331-440 range. You can see my assessment of the Pac's future on the Pac-12 6.0 page.

 

[Manster7588]

I don't know if Larry Scott's plan was to destroy the conference...but if it was...he did a helluva job.

The problem for Oregon, UW and Utah is that there doesn't seem to be much interest from other conferences in having them join.

Interestingly, if they can somehow cobble together a halfway decent tv deal, that apparent lack of interest could be what saves the conference.

If they can keep Oregon, UW and Utah along with Stanford, Cal, Oregon St. and Wazzu, that's a decent group. If they can then bring in some teams that have wanted to be P5 for a while like SDSU and Boise, they could have a decent conference. They wouldn't be as good as the SEC or B1G, but they'd be right there with the ACC and Big 12. With Oregon and UW they'd also have 2 of the biggest "names" out of those 3 conferences.

If they could keep the AZ schools, that would also help. Although, rumor is that the Big 12 wants the AZ schools next.

If they lose Oregon, UW and Utah, they also likely lose the AZ schools. At that point, there best hope might be to try to bring in some mid-majors and basically become a G5 conference, if they don't just shut it down.

Problem is as of now the PAC Isn't really a P5 conference. We all know it, it's just nobody has said it.

 

[LoftonPack80]

Arizona is going to the Big 12 next unless something drastic changes quickly.

At that point, the Big Ten will be given one last chance to add Washington and Oregon or they will join the Big 12 as 15 and 16. Big Ten may feel compelled to act quicker than they wanted to because UW/Oregon will have increased buyouts in order to leave the Big 12 during the next media cycle. It's also possible that they wait til next cycle, even if it's more costly and has more hurdles.

Big 12 will most likely add some combination of ASU, Utah and UConn as 15 and 16 if the Big Ten takes UO/UW.

I don't get the feeling that the new BIG commission is as enthusiastic about expansion as Kevin Warren was

 

[HuskerOC]

IMO, this is all leading towards 2 Super Conferences. The SEC and Big10. They have all the money and power.

When USC and UCLA left the Pac12, the TitleIX, other sports, and travel went completely out the window.

I can see upwards of 24 teams in each the SEC and Big10 conferences when all is said and done. While that sounds great with a natural 11 game schedule, 2 division champs paying in a Semi-Final, and a 'true' National Champ, it tears away at a ton of the fabric of the greatness of college football.

Personally, I'm sad for the fans of teams on the outside looking in. My Huskers haven't done shit in a couple of decades.

 

[Mebert]

Problem is as of now the PAC Isn't really a P5 conference. We all know it, it's just nobody has said it.

Below P5, still above other leagues. Weird gray area.

 

[mikeytheman247]

Below P5, still above other leagues. Weird gray area.

My conference football only rankings for 2024 would be this;

SEC
BIG10
BIG12
ACC
PAC
American
Sunbelt
Mountain West
MAC
Conference USA

 

[mikeytheman247]

IMO, this is all leading towards 2 Super Conferences. The SEC and Big10. They have all the money and power.

When USC and UCLA left the Pac12, the TitleIX, other sports, and travel went completely out the window.

I can see upwards of 24 teams in each the SEC and Big10 conferences when all is said and done. While that sounds great with a natural 11 game schedule, 2 division champs paying in a Semi-Final, and a 'true' National Champ, it tears away at a ton of the fabric of the greatness of college football.

Personally, I'm sad for the fans of teams on the outside looking in. My Huskers haven't done shit in a couple of decades.

Since OU/Texas & UCLA/USC announced they were leaving it turned into P2 then the rest. PAC and ACC didn't do anything. BIG12 was aggressive picking up the best of G5 teams. They are now the best of the rest.

We'll see what happens next but no one is going to catch up to the BIG10/SEC.

As a Uconn fan we've been dealing with this for over a decade.

 

[Manster7588]

My conference football only rankings for 2024 would be this;

SEC
BIG10
BIG12
ACC






PAC
American
Sunbelt
Mountain West
MAC
Conference USA

FIFY

 

[Duckboy33]

I don't get the feeling that the new BIG commission is as enthusiastic about expansion as Kevin Warren was

Rule #1: Don't believe anyone's public statements. The PAC 12 commissioner just told everyone that nobody was going to leave for the Big 12 a week ago. Oregon's AD told a local reporter that Oregon is all in with the PAC 12 and we now know they've been in contract with the Big 12 and Big Ten.

I think it's almost a guarantee that the Big Ten is going to add 2-4 more PAC 12 schools. It's just a matter of whether they do it for the 2024, 2026 or 2030 season IMO.