Chasing More Lucrative Television Contractsįor the Pac-12 schools decamping for the Big Ten, the move offers an opportunity to align with perennial powerhouses such as Ohio State and Michigan to gain more national exposure, broaden their recruiting base, and attract better talent and to realistically battle for a national championship. The Pac-12's dissolution has affected the entirety of college sports, relegating the West to second-class status as the dominant conference in that region can no longer stake its claim among the Power 5.Īll this history and tradition down the drain, and for what? Money, of course. Consider what happened when longstanding combatants Oklahoma and Nebraska departed for different conferences, essentially ending one of college football's most heated rivalries. Some of these traditions might continue, but conference realignments breed new rivalries while others founder. The "Civil War" waged between Oregon and Oregon State.Īnd, of course, Stanford and Cal competing in "The Big Game," inaugurated in 1892 and forever memorialized by " The Play." Washington and Washington State battling for the Apple Cup. UCLA squaring off in the Rose Bowl and Memorial Coliseum. Within the conference, traditional football rivalries flourished. UCLA dominated college basketball in the 1960s and early 1970s and still holds the most national championships, with 11.Īmong the colleges with the most Olympic medal winners, the top four - USC, Stanford, UCLA, and Cal-Berkeley - all compete within the Pac-12 (for now).Īnd across all intercollegiate sports, the schools with the most titles include Stanford, UCLA, and USC as the top three. Over its history, the Pac-12 has distinguished itself as an elite athletic conference, adopting the moniker " Conference of Champions." USC has produced seven Heisman Trophy winners, tied for the most with the University of Oklahoma, Notre Dame, and Ohio State University. The current incarnation of the Pac-12, including Colorado and Utah, debuted in 2011. In 1959, the PCC became the Pac-8 and would eventually become the Pac-10 with the addition of Arizona and Arizona State in 1978. Over many years, members would come and go - including the Universities of Idaho and Montana. The Pac-12 has a long and glorious history that, by some measures, is unrivaled among college conferences.įormed in 1915 as the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC), the league coincidently included only four members: Cal-Berkeley, the University of Washington, the University of Oregon, and what would become Oregon State University. How did this happen? And what does this mean for college athletics, especially football? The Pac-12's Historic Imprint on College Sports The Final Four, as it were, but in this case an inauspicious designation. ![]() So now the once revered Pac-12, a conference with a 108-year history replete with All-America athletes and national championship teams, has been reduced to Stanford, the University of California-Berkeley, Oregon State University, and Washington State University. Washington and Oregon will eventually reunite with two other Pac-12 schools, the University of Southern California (USC) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), both of which confirmed last year they'd be in the Big Ten starting in 2024. Statement from the Pac-12 Conference: /XKwEqw9A3C- Pac-12 Conference August 5, 2023 ![]() That day, the Universities of Washington and Oregon announced they were joining the Big Ten beginning in 2024, while the Universities of Arizona and Utah, along with Arizona State University, declared they would be departing for the Big 12, following the University of Colorado's decision a week earlier. Departing teams are pursuing more money resulting from lucrative media deals.The Pac-12 has a long and distinguished history and several notable rivalries. ![]() Only four teams remain, and the future of the conference remains in doubt. ![]() Several universities have announced their departure from the Pac-12 athletic conference.Image Credit: Pasadena Star-News / MediaNews Group / Getty Images The Public Ivies, Little Ivies, and Other Ivy League Equivalents.
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