On Death’s Door, the Pac-12 Gains New Hope

San Diego State, Boise State, Colorado State, and Fresno State intend to apply for membership to the Pac12 and begin the conference's rebuild

Sep 30, 2022; Boise, Idaho, USA; Boise State Broncos safety Zion Washington (31) brings the hammer prior to kick off prior to first half action at Albertsons Stadium against the San Diego State Aztecs. Mandatory Credit: Brian Losness-Imagn Images / Brian Losness-Imagn Images

Recent reports confirmed by multiple sources have indicated that current Mountain West programs San Diego State, Boise State, Colorado State, and Fresno State intend to apply for membership to the depleted Pac-12 Conference –– a formal announcement could come at any point this week. 

Due to the changing dynamics of college football and cataclysmic failures within Pac-12 administration in media rights negotiations over the last fifteen years, the conference was disbanded as big-time programs left for conferences that could offer a more lucrative payday.

Only Oregon State and Washington State remain in the two-member Pac-12 conference.

Per NCAA guidelines, the conference has a two-year grace period to reach a minimum of eight member institutions to remain satisfactory; these new additions from the Mountain West will get them three-quarters of the way there.  

In 2010, the Pac-12 had the potential to become a super conference, with active negotiations on the table to bring in many Big 12 programs who were looking for more favorable media rights payouts, including Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and Texas A&M.

In an alternate reality, it would have been the Pac-12, not the Big Ten, who initiated aggressive acquisitions that led to today's widespread conference realignment. Ultimately, the deal reached an impasse as Texas was unwilling to share revenue equally and give up its newly minted Longhorn Network. 

Subsequent media rights deals lagged behind powerhouse conferences like the Big Ten and SEC. Strategic mishaps and operating in a less-than-optimal time zone plagued the Pac-12 Network, making it much less fruitful than its Big Ten Network counterpart. With giant media rights contracts handed out to the Big Ten and SEC, the most prominent schools within the Pac-12 decided it was best to chase money over loyalty. Catalyzed by first movers UCLA and USC’s departure to the Big Ten, eight other member schools departed for new Power 4 Conferences, leaving Washington State and Oregon State high and dry. 

With their backs against the wall, the two school conferences struck up a deal in the interim with the similarly geographically situated Mountain West Conference for scheduling and media rights compensation. Their one-year deal expired last week with no indications of renewal.

Now, it appears obvious why that was the case, as several of the most prominent Mountain West programs eagerly await their announcement to join the storied conference. 

The endeavor will not be without substantial financial cost to current Mountain West programs.

A buyout for any Mountain West schools looking to leave the conference comes with a price tag of $17,000,000, and an additional $43,000,000 will be owed to the Mountain West by the Pac-12 as a condition of the joint scheduling agreement they entered into for the 2024-2025 season. If the Pac-12 is to absorb the entire Mountain West Conference, this fee would have been waived.

As it currently stands with a four-team expansion, the Mountain West looks to receive $111,000,000, a very healthy payday that could help the conference survive as it now will have to search for new schools to poach in the never-ending domino effect that is conference realignment. 

The future outlook for the Pac-12 is no longer bleak.

San Diego State is a perennial contender in men’s basketball with a passionate fan base in the nation’s 30th-biggest television market. Boise State has a rich football history and dominates the state of Idaho. Fresno State and Colorado State bring solid athletic programs and similarly large television markets.

They are not USC, UCLA, Washington, or Colorado, but these schools offer the best of what is available. 

The Pac-12 will have to rely on the legacy of its conference and the permanence of its intellectual property.

John Wooden, Reggie Bush, Tiger Woods, Bill Walton, Andrew Luck, and Gary Payton, among hundreds of other legendary Pac-12 figures, will be remembered by the Pac-8, Pac-10, or Pac-12 they played in.

The legendary moments under the Pac-12 shield will not be transmuted onto the Big Ten or any other conference. Ensuring that this rich history stays with the Pac-12 as it enters its new look will be crucial to maintaining its legacy, lore, and the emotional attachments that encourage fans to tune in and attend games.