The population of the 6 States within which The PAC 12 operates is
67.4 Million.
It isn’t going anywhere and does not need to expand.
They are in 2 Time Zones which, together, have only The MWC as competition.
They are setting up their HQ in Las Vegas and will, effectively, have access to 4 huge Pro Stadiums so as to promote Bowl Tie-Ins,etc.
These Stadiums are in the Metro areas of San Francisco, L.A. , Las Vegas, and Phoenix.
Their new Commissioner will create new $Money streams via the existing Conference Teams.
The PAC 12 does not need Texas or any other State to do just fine.
If you call Washington as your last school to sniff the playoffs five years ago fine. Granted, UT has not come close either, but at least OU reps the B12 in the playoffs.
In the last 30 years,
The SEC has expanded its footprint into Arkansas, South Carolina, Missouri, and, Texas.
The B1G has expanded into Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and, Nebraska.
The ACC has expanded into New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and entered into an agreement with Notre Dame.
The PAC-12 has expanded into Colorado and Utah.
Which one of these four conferences is leading and which is falling behind? The PAC-12 may not need to expand, but sooner or later the barbarians are going to be at the gate.
The PAC is a unique and storied institution. If you aren’t familiar with it then you don’t understand its mystique. Its prides itself on promoting the fusion of sport and academics. Almost exclusively (maybe AZ is an exception) every program can enjoy all olympic sports 12 months a year.
But one of the more prominent features of the PAC has always been its ability to govern its business at the conference member level.
Unlike, Texas and the south in general, getting government and politicians involved in conference matters has always been anathema to their culture.
And their rivalries are more constrained than ours. Even USC and UCLA (Cal/Stan) don’t hate one another as much as UH and Baylor do. And we don’t even play each other much.
The PAC will do what the university presidents say. Not what the politicians, media, or even fans say.
Yes, they are. The B1G is very similar. They take pride in their academics and achievements on the field.
Having lived most of my life in B1G territory, I have never seen school rivalries like those in Texas. I believe it goes back to having so many schools from the same state in the same conference.
The PAC-12 has started to see the impact of their not keeping up with the other conferences. Their lack of a presence in the CFP is indicative of that. If they’re satisfied with their standing in the CFP universe that’s fine. But if they want to compete in the CFP, and that’s really driving this, they need to expand their horizons.
I disagree. Has more to do with their top programs going through a rough patch and not having a dominant team lately. When they had a 1 loss champ, they made the playoff over 2 loss OU, Penn St, and Michigan. They also had 3 loss USC and Colorado ranked higher than ACC 3 loss teams Florida St and Louisville, also 2 loss West Virginia. In 2019, 2 loss Oregon was ranked above 2 loss Florida, Alabama, Notre Dame, and Penn St. Clearly not thought of as a lesser conference.
If Clemson were to fall off, all the talk with shift to them as the weak conference who needs to make a move.
It opens up new markets to PAC-12 football. I like to watch college football. But there’s only one PAC-12 football game I enjoy watching and that USC-UCLA. I don’t care about the Apple Bowl or watching UA-ASU unless it’s to watch Kevin Sumlin get embarrassed. Add some other schools and I might watch more games. I’m sure there are other viewers feeling that way. More viewers mean more $$$.
The number of HS football players in CA is declining. You need to get football players from somewhere else. An expansion east will at least get players considering the PAC-12.
You are hanging the PAC-12’s future on USC? Yes, they are probably the standard bearer of the PAC-12. But the PAC-12 needs other schools to step it up. Oregon has Phil Knight bankrolling them so they can. You’re referencing the PAC-8? It’s been over 40 years since the Arizona schools were invited to join.
So you’re asking Helton to revive the PAC? If they are in their own bubble out on the west coast, they do not care if the rest of the country does not watch or does not want a 9:00 kick off on the east coast. But until they gain a presence in the CFP, they will be irrelevant outside of the west coast. Good players from Texas HS have gone out their, but enter the portal after a year. Nice weather but wacked people. If UH were to enter a P5 conference, it could be like the SWC where they dominate pretty quickly, back then it was the Cotton Bowl, today it is CFP.
These schools are worth what someone will pay them. Articles stating lower values only destabilizes Big 12 and are a bit self serving coming from ESPN mouthpieces.
If the Pac-12 is going to approach anyone, what are they waiting for? Their TV contract is up for renewal after 2023-24, and everyone they’d be able to consider is extremely available right now. If they say they’re not expanding, I’m inclined to believe them.
PAC isn’t strong enough to expand from strength a la the B1G or the SEC. Much more likely to be eaten than be an eater. Best case for the PAC is alliance with the B1G or to be left alone.
No clue. My guess is they probably already knew it was all happening….
92010Coogs
(I took a lie detector test...No I did not)
118
Robert you live in Tucson, Bear Down country. Just tell us what makes you so sure that what you are writing is correct?
We want tangible proofs proving your points otherwise you will agree that this is just an assumption on your part. Assumptions are fine. Just write so.
The PAC12 has a new commissioner. He was hired to generate more money to the PAC12 that we can agree on. Every possibility is on the table. You want to make more money?
You explore every avenue possible.