Is Pac-12 revival a real-time possibility after Washington Huskies finds place in CFB National championship? Potential scenarios explored

The Pac-12 Conference has officially made it to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game as the Washington Huskies are competing on Monday evening for the sport's biggest achievement. However, the collapse of the conference as a whole has been widely reported on throughout the last couple of years to the point that 10 of the 12 universities will call a new conference home beginning in the 2024 college football season.

But could the success of the Huskies help the revival of the conference? Here's a look at a few scenarios that may have just opened up as a result of Washington being one of the final two teams left standing:

Pac-12 Scenario #1: This creates buzz around the conference

The Washington Huskies are already moving on after the season from the Conference of Champions as they head to the Big Ten Conference. That makes things a little difficult for the Pac-12's future but that shows West Coast football could be a dominant force.

The Big Ten is kind of doing this now but highlighting some incredible programs in that section of the country would make sense. Getting programs that are in a Group of Five conference and elevating them to be part of a Power Five in theory should not be too difficult as well.

Pac-12 Scenario #2: Use it with relegation rules

While this scenario is the most far-fetched, it could make college sports interesting. The Pac-12 essentially would follow the European football model of regulation for the teams finishing with the worst records. This would be interesting and likely create some issues overall without a partnership with a Group of Five conference and specific parameters surrounding the money but would be intriguing.

For example, if the Pac-12 were to have relegation, the team with the worst record would go to the Mountain West Conference while the top team in that conference would take the spot, thus rewarding good programs. This would be interesting at the collegiate sports level and could create a different way American fans follow the product.

Pac-12 Scenario #3: Merge Baby Merge

The Conference of Champions currently consists of two teams next season: Washington State Cougars and Oregon State Beavers. The conference has no media rights lined up as of this writing either, so why not look to merge with another conference and create something sustainable?

This feels like the realistic option and just adopt the final two teams and create the newer version of the conference with their assets going forward. This gives a bunch of new programs the light of a Power Five conference and the ability to compete on the bigger stages so this would be a massive plus. Fans saw the immediate success of teams like the Liberty Flames so why not allow other programs as well?