California Coach Justin Wilcox Bemoans 'Sad' Mass Exodus from Pac-12

The once-proud Golden Bears are facing an uncertain future.

Few embody what the Pac-12 once was like California coach Justin Wilcox.

The Golden Bears coach was born in Eugene, played for Oregon, spent 2014–15 as USC’s defensive coordinator, and is now running things in Berkeley.

However, California—along with Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State—has been rendered nomadic by the events of Friday, when Oregon and Washington left for the Big Ten while Arizona, Arizona State and Utah joined the Big 12.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Wilcox offered perspective on one of the most significant weeks in the history of collegiate athletics.

"There's no denying the significance of this," Wilcox said. "This is as big a deal as it gets to be. Really kind of shocking. Personally, it's sad. ... From what I know, it probably didn't need to come to this, but things happened along the way."

The Pac-12 had existed in some form or fashion since 1915, predating any appreciable major professional sports presence in the western United States. Accounting for the previous defections of USC and UCLA to the Big Ten and Colorado’s move to the Big 12, the Golden Bears have lost eight of their 14 most frequently played football opponents to other leagues in the last two years.

"It's frustrating, there's some anger in there, but right now, what we're focused on is this season," Wilcox said, acknowledging the uncertainty of  California's situation.

The Golden Bears, whose conference affiliation going forward remains to be seen, open their season at North Texas on Sept. 2.