Upon the demise of the Pac-12 Conference in 2023, fans and pundits were quick to write off its legacy and competitiveness.
However, in 2024, two former Pac-12 members won the new conferences they joined in their very first year – Arizona State (Big 12) and Oregon (Big Ten).
Are those championships a positive footnote on the league’s previous era or a stain on how it was managed in its dying days?
In short, Pac-12 leadership dragged its feet in negotiating a new media rights deal, which prompted the departure of 10 total members in an effort to survive in the sport’s new landscape.
That chase for television dollars and elevated exposure resulted in trophies and College Football Playoff berths but for teams that may not have left the Pac-12 if the exodus wasn’t initiated by USC and UCLA.
The Big 12 and Big Ten benefitted the most from the former Pac-12 on paper. The former power conference now deserves some credibility for the level of competition it once boasted.
Because of how late games would kick off, not much of the country would stay up to watch exciting matchups, thus draining the Pac-12 of notoriety the SEC traditionally earned for its tight games.
Now departed teams play in earlier time slots more frequently and have their highlights seen by millions more fans than before. In addition to that, three former Pac-12 teams finished in the Top 25 – none were USC or UCLA.
If the Pac-12 had stayed intact, would these same teams have had the immense success earned this year? Would an Arizona State v. Oregon conference championship have had as much weight in the chase for the College Football Playoff? Fans will never know.
Pac-12 leaders clearly made miscalculations that resulted in the destruction of a power conference, but at the very least the fruit of its legacy will be enjoyed by fans in a new era of the sport.
