The Pac-12: Death by 1,000 Cuts and a “$” sign
Blood in the Water
Other conferences are circling, ready to pick the Pac-12 carcass. It’s no secret the Big 12 is after the “four corner schools, Arizona, Arizona, State, Colorado, and Utah, and have been for quite a while.
This week, news broke that the Big Ten isn’t done expanding. They have their eyes on Washington and Oregon, at the least. Apparently, California and Stanford could be in play as well.
If whatever television deal Kliavkoff pieces together absolutely must come in at least near the deal the Big 12 got. If not, there will be more defections as greener pastures entice member schools.
That still might not be enough.
Brett McMurphy, The Action Network’s college football insider, was on The Solid Verbal College Football Podcast. He said the end is near:
“The future of the Pac-12 is largely dependent on how aggressive the Big Ten gets. I think they’re going to be very aggressive because I still think their plan never was just add UCLA and USC and leave them on an island. They want to bring in more Pac-12 schools.”
I think they (Pac-12 schools) would honestly say, and I would believe this, they want to stick together. But they don’t want to stick together if the amount of money that they’re going to make in media rights is five or ten million less than whatever the Big 12 and ACC schools are making.”
It may not be immediate, but the stars are aligning against the Pac-12.
Disaster is Brewing
From the outside, this looks like the perfect storm that wipes out the Pac-12.
- No new television contract after 18 months since hiring a new commissioner
- Limited viewership
- Limited interest from networks
- Recruiting failures leading to poor on-field results
- No CFP appearances since 2017
- Other conferences recruiting member schools
For their part, Commissioner George Kliavkoff and the Pac-12 CEO Group thought they had more time before their house came crashing down around them. But there are multiple news stories every day that say the end is near.
The worst part about the Pac-12’s demise is that it was preventable. The Arrogance shown by former commissioner Larry Scott combined with a timing miscalculation from his successor
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