The Pac-12 is not dead yet
In late 2023, the Pacific-12 (PAC) conference seemingly closed its doors. The University of Southern California (USC) Trojans, the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Bruins, and the Oregon Ducks all departed the conference for “the Big Ten,” the University of California Golden Bears and Stanford Cardinals left for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), and the Arizona Wildcats, Arizona State Sun Devils, Colorado Buffaloes, and Utah Utes left for the Big-12. The only teams that remained after the exit of 10 of the 12 teams were the Oregon State Beavers and the Washington State Cougars. The Beavers and Cougars were set up to run as a two-team conference, however, the Pac-12 decided to add some reinforcements. On Wednesday, Sept. 17, the Pac-12 officially added four more teams into the running. These teams include the San Diego State Aztecs, the Fresno State Bulldogs, the Colorado State Rams, and the Boise State Broncos. After 108 years of tradition, the Pac-12 is not done just yet.
It is exhilarating to see the Pac-12 reemerging, but it is important to look at the significance of this move. Will it alter the landscape of Division 1 sports? For starters, the San Diego State Aztecs have been one of the best teams in college basketball for the past couple of years. The Aztecs made it to the College Basketball National Championship in 2022 and have been a prominent contender in the March Madness tournament more broadly. San Diego State has made it to the tournament for four consecutive years and likely would have made it in 2020 if it had not gotten canceled after a stellar 30-2 season. The Fresno State Bulldogs are not as fortunate on the basketball end, going 11-21 last season; however, Fresno State has an up-and-coming football program. The Bulldogs are currently 3-1 and sit at the top of the Mountain West conference; they even finished last year with a solid 8-4 record and won a bowl game. The Colorado State Rams are likely the most balanced team of the four. The Rams have made the March Madness tournament in two of the last four years, and although their record may not show it, the Rams have had a couple of solid football teams recently. Last but certainly not least, the Boise State Broncos are the best team of the four. The Broncos consistently make the March Madness tournament, consistently have winning football teams, and play a bowl game seemingly every year. Boise State is also the only one of these teams ranked in college football currently, sneaking in to be the 25th-ranked team in the Country.
It is also worth mentioning that when this article was written, the Gonzaga Bulldogs were conversing with the Pac-12 to become the seventh team in the conference. This would be massive for the Pac-12, as Gonzaga has been a powerhouse in college basketball for decades now. Gonzaga has been to the March Madness tournament 26 times, has been an elite eight-team six times, and has made it to the National Championship twice, appearing in the last 10 years. Gonzaga is currently ranked fifth in the college basketball “way-too-early” rankings, so having Gonzaga come in as the seventh team would be massive for the conference.
These changes to the conference will not be effective until 2026, so it is very difficult to decipher which teams will be top competitors two years from now. If you look at history, however, teams like San Diego State have been very successful in college basketball, and on the other side of the coin, the Boise State Broncos have been very successful in college football. These four teams, along with the Oregon State Beavers and the Washington State Cougars, will attempt to re-ignite the flame that was the highly entertaining and historic Pacific-12 conference.