Skip To Main Content

CMS Sportscast by Cameron Moore (6th)

The Story of the PAC-12 and How TV and Money Have Shaped Realignment

File:Pac-12 wordmark.svg - Wikipedia

Almost everyone who watches college athletics knows conference realignment is an absolute dumpster fire. Many say it is ruining the sport. But, how did all of this, as well as the dissolution of the PAC-12 occur?

Realignment truly began in 1979 when Division 1-AA (modern day Division 1 FCS) school East Tennessee moved from the Ohio Valley Conference to the Southern Conference. Many independent schools would find their way into conferences in those early years. As Army is planning to enter conference play in 2024, UConn, UMass, and Notre Dame will be the only three independent schools remaining, with the latter having a five-game arrangement with the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

Fast forward to modern day. Many big schools are changing conferences this year. These schools include Oregon, UCLA, USC, Washington, Colorado, Utah, Oklahoma, Texas, and Army. So, let’s look at our winners and losers of realignment.

The aforementioned ACC is gaining SMU, as well as two WEST COAST teams (Cal and Stanford). The fact that the Atlantic Coastal Conference has teams on the pacific coast personally disgusts me. They also signed a TV deal with ESPN through 2036. The Big XII were also big realignment winners. They got Cincinnati and Houston in the 2023-24 season, and while they are losing Texas and Oklahoma, who are going to the SEC, the Big XII are gaining Arizona, Arizona State, Utah, and Colorado.

The Big Ten is a fascinating story. They are also gaining teams from the West Coast, in Oregon, USC, UCLA, and the reigning national finalists and Sugar Bowl winners, the Washington Huskies. But, you may be wondering something; where did all of these west coast teams come from?

The PAC-12 conference, a traditional western giant, is dissolving this season after a very long history of collegiate athletics. Why? It is very simple: TV. Conferences have basically always been run on football, and schools have always wanted to show off them and their programs. The best way to do that is television. That is where the PAC-12 flopped: they couldn’t find a very good TV deal. That is the reason everyone left: they wanted the top TV deals that the other conferences had. 

However, non-football athletes are not happy about realignment. Most schools prioritize football over their other athletic programs, and realignment doesn’t touch football programs too much. They are very highly funded with week-long windows to travel. If Cal wants to play against east coast teams, so be it! They have a week to travel. Other athletics, like basketball, do not have the same amount of funding as the football programs nor the amount of travel time. College basketball teams can get, at the lowest, one travel day in between games. Only two travel days is a standard in the sport.

So, there we go. A whole history of realignment as well as the one-year history of the PAC-12 blowing itself up. College athletics are always changing, and it will be interesting to see what happens next.
 

Sources:


Photo credits: https://www.brandsoftheworld.com/logo/pacific-12-conference-0