Where are the Pac-12 teams going? List of all teams that left for new conferences in the Power 5

Modified Sep 01, 2023 15:49 GMT

The Pac-12 has lost eight of its schools

Things have been chaotic recently in the Pac-12 due to several schools declaring their intention to leave the conference. The following schools have announced their withdrawal from the Pac-12 as of Sep. 1:

USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington join the Big Ten in 2024.

Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah will join the Big 12 in 2024.

Stanford and Cal will join ACC in 2024.

Because of these departures, the Pacific-12 is in a difficult situation, as it is now left with just two schools: Washington State and Oregon State.

In the wake of these exits, there have been speculations on what's next for the conference. Two of the most touted options for the conference are an expansion path or a potential merger with another FBS conference.

Understand that the exodus from the Pacific-12 has also dealt a major blow to whatever media rights deal it had been able to secure. Its current media rights deal runs out in 2024, and it has become very difficult to negotiate a revised media rights deal with an almost empty membership roll.

But there are no guarantees that things can’t even worsen for the conference. Its remaining four members couldn’t have been sitting all this time and left their fate in the hands of the conference, especially when it has lately made a habit of failure.

Why did the schools leave the Pac-12?

Several factors are responsible for the mass departures from the “Conference of Champions.” The most obvious reason is that the Big Ten and the Big 12 have more money on the table right now.

Both the Big Ten and the Big 12 have recently signed media rights deals that’ll give them cool cash to share with their members year in and year out. The Pac-12, on the other hand, has been unable to secure a media deal as lucrative.

Its shaky leadership in the past several years is another reason the schools are leaving. Former commissioner Larry Scott’s run of bad decisions and bloated spending left the conference in a precarious state. At the same time, the incumbent commish George Kliavkoff has been unable to reverse this in his two years in charge.

Is there a future for the Pac-12?

Things can go anywhere from here for the conference. The thing is that it will be negotiating from a very disadvantageous position. Such a situation hardly guarantees the best deal. But the Pac-12 can indeed redeem its future, as we’d all hope it does.