Why The PAC-12 Isn’t Dead (Yet)

2024 has brought all kinds of new things to adjust to in the college sports world. Perhaps most notable among them has been life without the PAC-12, the West Coast Conference of the Power 5. After dissolving into two teams in 2023, Oregon State and Washington State, the conference is showing signs of life after partnering with the Mountain West Conference. 

The Old PAC 12

The PAC-12 was arguably the deepest conference in the NCAA in recent years. Unlike the football-centric SEC, they had powerhouses in multiple sports. They were usually good for one or two championship-contending football teams per year and were consistently the best conference in College Basketball. 

Despite the fact that conference realignment and the PAC-12’s downfall were driven by football, 2023 was the best PAC-12 football season in years. Both Washington and Oregon were National Championship contenders, with Washington making it all the way to the championship game. The University of Southern California had the best player in the nation, quarterback Caleb Williams. Colorado, one of the worst teams in the conference, was making national headlines through Head Coach Deion Sanders’ radical approach to the college game. 

The conference is also historic. It boasts one of the most beloved teams in College Football history: mid-2000s USC featuring running back Reggie Bush, quarterback Matt Leinart, and running back LenDale White. But what was most shocking was how it seemed things were trending toward an explosion for the PAC-12. And yet, it was already too late. 

Conference Realignment

While there are countless moral and ethical considerations regarding mass conference realignment in college sports, we can no longer debate that. The results are set. Stanford recently traveled to Syracuse for their first ACC football game. No going back. 

While there are more entertaining matchups on Saturdays in the fall, who knows how many rowing and field hockey teams have their already packed schedules further complicated by cross-country travel? But alas, Alabama will play Texas in Norman in November. 

Greed and travel complications aside, conference realignment has provided something new and exciting for college sports. The PAC-12 simply missed the boat. Years of mismanagement resulted in losing all of those high-profile athletic brands to the Big Ten and ACC. When the time came for college football to make a groundbreaking change, the conference simply wasn’t ready. The schools, however, were. 

What Happened to the PAC 12?

Whether it was their own fault or not—it’s very likely that it was—the PAC-12 suffered the most from the mass conference realignment that went into effect in 2024. All of the conference’s big brands (USC, UCLA, Washington, Oregon, Cal, Stanford, Arizona, Arizona State, Utah, and Colorado) jumped ship when the suits could not strike a TV deal.

Most of the blame for this blunder fell on Larry Scott, rightfully so. Scott was the conference commissioner until 2021. He famously ushered in the PAC-12 Network, broadcasting exclusively PAC-12 sports. Scott experienced a lot of success with the conference in the early 2010s, getting TV deals to broadcast games on ESPN and FOX Sports. 

However, as things progressed under Scott, media deals became less and less lucrative. All the while, Scott continued to pay himself and his closest colleagues hefty salaries when the conference should have been in crisis-management mode. While emphasizing that he wanted more out of the PAC-12 schools, Scott showed little compassion at all for the conference’s history and rivalry. 

According to CBS Sports, the PAC-12’s undoing was set in stone when it came in just under $12 million short on its media rights deal. Scott was already gone at that point, leaving the PAC-12 for dead. 

That has left the once-mighty conference with two teams in 2024: Oregon State and Washington State. Not poor athletic programs by any means, but not the ones you want to build around as you rebuild a dying, arguably already dead conference. Both teams have put in respectable showings to start their football seasons, but if the PAC-12 wants to survive, everyone knows they need to add teams fast. 

The New PAC 12

Fans of comic books will be familiar with what is happening now with the PAC-12. The old heroes moved on for various reasons, and now a new team of Avengers will be formed. It will never be the same as before, but there is reason to be excited. 

The confirmed teams joining Washington State and Oregon State are San Diego State, Boise State, Fresno State, Utah State, and Colorado State. We’re over halfway back to 12! These are good moves by the PAC-12, while it obviously guts the lesser Mountain West Conference. 

SDSU has turned out to be a basketball powerhouse. While football drives the revenue in all of the NCAA, the PAC-12 will take anything that they can get at this point. 

Boise State, famous for playing on a blue field, has put together an excellent start to their football season. They have been led by the best running back in the nation in Ashton Jeanty. 

Fresno State has turned out to be a quiet breeding ground for some of the best athletes in America, including stars NFL receiver Davante Adams, NBA forward Paul George, and MLB outfielder Aaron Judge.

Colorado State does not offer as much, but they are still extremely relevant due to their rivalry with Colorado. It’s an eyeballs game. CSU and Utah State both have become strong basketball programs, too. 

Where Do They Go From Here? 

There is little chance that the PAC-12 is done adding teams. They paid the price for their transgressions and now will look to rebuild. The conference is building a strong base out West, as you might expect, but college sports are not geographically defined anymore. They could be primed to take some real big swings in the coming months as they try to reestablish themselves as a Power 5 (now Power 4) conference.