Gonzaga is a fantastic add by the PAC. Great basketball (both men’s and women’s), but also solid, successful, and well supported in the other sports as well.
This new PAC conference should root for the Cleveland Guardians this playoff with so many alumni on that team.: Beaver's Stephen Kwan & Mathew Boyd, Coug's Kyle Manzardo, and Zag's Eli Morgan. That doesn't even include the top MLB draft pick of OSU's Travis Bazzana who the Guardians took #1 overall. Go Guards!
The Zags announced earlier this summer that assistant coach and GU/Jesuit HS alum Brian Michaelson is the officially the next "coach in waiting" to step in once Few retires (the same "position" once held by Tommy Lloyd). B Mike will be 43 later this month. He's never been a head coach before, but he's been on Few's staff for more than a decade and knows the GU academic and athletic leadership and culture inside and out. Sound familiar? Go Zags!
Beaver alumni and fan here. I am excited to have Gonzaga in the PAC!! Great basketball brand/school and competitive in baseball and that should only get stronger. Welcome aboard Bulldogs!!!!
Few likely coaches into 70's if he's still having fun :). Can't wait to watch em in Gill. I think OSU, WSU and Gonzaga should bring back the Far West Classic - 8 team, 3 day tournament, guaranteeing every team 3 games, back to back to back.
Oregon is set to earn $20m more this fiscal year than they did last year, and the upside grows by $15m in year 3 and another $30m+ in year 7. I don’t think they or any of the others are at all disappointed with their decisions. The NewPac is a nice G6 league, but those ten are all in much better places
And you'd better spend that money on players because this is what Oregon has to do: spend more money than anybody else just to keep its position as a 2nd tier program in the Big10. Relax, over time, you're gonna learn to live with that status. With regards to GU joining the Pac12, it's awesome. This is a tectonic shift for the conference!
I'm just pointing out the facts. tOSU and Michigan are the Alphas of the Big10. As a Duck fan, if you're happy being a Beta, that's your business. I've noticed when good news breaks for the Pac12, Duck fan is quick to try to spin it into something bad, it's become a theme on social media.
Never fails. The Dbaggiest among the schmuck fan populace can't help themselves. They just hafta comment on articles and news that doesn't concern anything remotely connected to the entity they claim to support so they can further cement they're reputation as the most noxious fans in collegiate sports.
Everything about this has put the UW right in there with Rutgers, Purdue, Northwestern and Indiana (which like the past couple of seasons may have caught lightning in a bottle with one really good QB). And yes, they will have to spend and sacrifice to maintain that middle-of-the pack status. It won't get better and local recruits will get even more exposure to Ohio State and Michigan and want to try running with the big dogs.
I think Doug is having some trouble adjusting to his new lunchroom of the Big-10 and figuring out who to sit with. He just needs to make some new buddies with Maryland or Rutgers and start sparring with those folks instead.
Doug won't admit it, but part of him misses his old friends--those that all grew up together in his neighborhood with relationships which reach back for decades.
It's gonna take some time but he'll get there. In the meantime, we need to be patient with him.
You do wonder what Kyle “skip town” Smith is thinking. But to stay positive: I think this is great for the PAC, and great for college ball. Congrats to the PAC leadership team.
I don't see any traitors coming back entirely, but I do see a splitting of Football from the other sports. Why not have the Pac Coast Big10 teams find a home back in the PAC for all the other sports as the Big10 tries to add more FB Powers like FSU, Miami, UNC, & CLemson. The Big10 could benefit by letting those West COast teams play in the PAC while keeping their FB brands which basically pay the bills Why woudn't Fox Sports see that benefit as they compete with ESPN by adding the Pac12 Network to their streaming platform like they have with the Big 10 Network. That way they keep all those Big10 brands in all sports while adding the top ACC brands to the Big 10 fold. That doesn't even include if Stanford/Cal jump with all sports back to the PAC when the ACC implodes and if SMU is game why not add them A PAC conference with 10 or 11 schools that play FB and 5 more top Brands with all other sports including BBall would certainly merit a strong media contract.
I'm still hoping for that possibility when those you call traitors turn into collaborators to help maintain the viability of big time college sports on the West Coast and reduce the travel burden on so many of these college athletes..
This goes to the theme many of us have discussed that there will be a Super League of 32 or so teams, operating as the NFL minor league. It would make sense for the NFL to keep their developmental players in such a college Super Conference so they get playing time under the tutelage and physical care of their NFL parent team. Right now, the NFL carries a 10 player development team that gets no playing time AND the NFL loses control of the revenue of the teams in the top tier of college. Now, if a Super Conference does develop, 1:1 with the NFL, there is only room for one team to match with Seattle (maybe the Ducks could be the 49ers affiliate). It will be interesting as the NFL / FSN / ESPN breakup the B1G and SEC to form this Super Conference. It is definitely coming. Here is an interesting article on this topic: https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/why-nfls-player-development-model-could-be-transformed-by-one-persistent-longtime-agent/
Great addition for the Pac 12. They are showing everyone how to make chicken salad out of chicken shit! No, this isn't valid P2 or P4 football conference, but it's sure the best conference available to the teams involved. Kudos to conference leadership for finally realizing that and capitalizing on the West Coast connections. Focus on what made college sports great, the regional appeal.
Gonzaga not only brings in great men's basketball and a solid baseball program, it also helps Scott Rueck and his national women's basketball program as the Zags are perennial NCAA tournament participants in WBB. This was a game changer in more ways than one.
I'm with you. UNLV or Memphis, whoever bites first. That sets the PAC up as both a great FBall & Bball conference. Then wait for the rest of the Power 4 shakeup with the ACC issues. Welcome Zags.
Who’s out there that moves the needle? It’s basically Memphis and that’s minimal. It probably hurts the AAC more than I helps the Pac, but in the grand landscape it’s a blip
No doubt Big 10 and SEC are the best two football conferences, The SEC, as its namesake confirms, is in the Southeast footprint. The BIg10 is a Midwestern conference that first moved East (PSU, Rutgers, & Maryland) and then grabbed the 4 West Coast schools as they became National. No one would pretend they are a football conference in the West.
The point was that the best football programs in the West reside in the Big10. The NewPac will likely be a very competitive western G6 conference. Which is a great 2nd tier
Disagree...The SEC has only ever really had 2, maybe 3 elite teams per season. Missouri was nothing in the Big-8 or Big-12, then suddenly they become SEC division champions their first year in the SEC...They've won the division multiple times. That right there tells you how over hyped that conference really is. The Big is the same way, there are only 2 maybe 3 elite teams, the others are about like everyone else.
The 2026 Pac 12 Would be the 3rd ranked football conference in terms of net rating right now with the addition of either UNLV, Tulane or Memphis. They currently sit 4th without any of them:
UNLV has signed a commitment to the MWest...They are not going to be a PAC school. The Mascot is a REBEL and they are committed to the Southern Tory Brit side.
One of the things that really appeals to me about the New Pac is its regionality. I really hated the idea of adding a Florida school. Texas is fine, Louisiana is a stretch, but maybe OK. But Florida is just a bad, bad idea.
A few days ago pundits were bashing the rebuild efforts of the PAC12 as inept, today they are brilliant. Gotta love it. Very happy with the addition of GU; they play a number of sports in addition to MBB and WBB that make them a good fit. Can't wait to see what moves the conference makes next. Go Beavs and the new PAC!
I really hope Teresa Gould and the current Pac-12 group keep to a 'geographic paln". I never liked the Tulane, etc. group because then we would become more like Cal and Stanford, having to spend more time in the air than on the ground. Not good for the student-athletes.....or the climate footprint of those schools!
A great addition to the new Pac-12, men's and women's basketball, plus baseball. Keeping schools regional helps each conference school budget wise, travel time and helps build rivalries. I'm very happy to see that news of Gonzaga joining the Pac-12 was accomplished with NO leaks. Any additional schools interested in taking a "peak under the hood" have to like that about the new Pac-12.
Thanks John! Huge win for the Pac12! Gonzaga has has very good baseball program as well. I would not be surprised to see St Mary’s join. Excellent basketball program . Very interesting that talks with Grand Canyon are ongoing. They also have a very good baseball program!
No football but you are correct, as a Phoenix based person, GCU is high profile in Bball and Baseball. They are competitive with ASU in both, though don't play them much
They are also very competitive with ASU cost wide, in spite of being a private school. Not to mention a basketball legend (Jerry Colangelo) is on GCUs board. Jerry gets things done.
It was Phoenix Sun star (Coangelo hire) Dan Majerle who got their BBall program on the map. Then they got into a fight over compensation or something (one year of a losing record?!) and he was gone. But Majerle's one-time presence has given the program an aura of excellence
Only OSU would have given him this long...most would have fired him coming off the Elite 8 when they won 3 games. It hasn't been much better since. They need to find a performer that has been there done that before at this level.
I agree. Unfortunately the OSU Athletic Director extended his contract after the last NCAA appearance in 2021, and built in a high buyout. The combination of those two items have made it very difficult to fire Tinkle, even though it should have been done (OSU is 27-69 since the 2021 NCAA run). In my opinion it is the AD's fault that Tinkle is still coach.
100% and it is imperative now that they move onward. He has two years to get this ship righted and in position to play against the best this conference will offer, but at present, they will struggle to beat the Big 3...Gonzaga, SDSU and Boise.
"The conference’s KenPom score would now rank fifth nationally, slipping in front of the ACC" That is just mind-blowing. The ACC was THE basketball conference 30-40 years ago with Duke, North Carolina, NC State, Wake Forest even NC-Winston Salem. It is the conference of Michael Jordan, David Thompson, Christian Laettner, Tim Duncan, Ralph Sampson, on and on.
This move solidifies the PAC's position that they should be a power conference. This is currently the 3rd ranked hoops conference by Ken Pom without any possible additions. You have 6 schools in the top 45 and 6 tourney teams form last year:
17. Gonzaga
20. San Diego State
26. Boise State
36. Colorado State
38. Utah State
44. Washington State
And the Beavs who ran to the elite 8 in 2021 and are still 28th in all time hoops wins.
Meanwhile The 2026 Pac 12 Would be the 3rd ranked football conference in terms of net rating right now with the addition of either UNLV, Tulane or Memphis. They currently sit 4th without any of them:
1. SEC- 82.13
2. Big 10 - 77.25
3. Big 12 - 77.20
4. Pac 12 - 74.61
5. ACC - 74.22
6. Sun Belt East - 64.53
7. I-A Ind. - 63.94
8. AAC - 63.50
9. SUN Belt West - 63.27
10. Mountain West - 62.71
Power conference argument is beyond legitimized based on new spending requirements and performance.
Spending isn’t even close to power conference levels
Also, the term power conference is largely a media concoction which originally made sense but has now created confusion in a landscape that has changed drastically since the term was coined. At that time, there were 5 conference whose revenue, spending, and influence were mostly on par with each other within a roughly 15-20% margin. Any the NCAA at the time voted to grant them some autonomy powers that other Conferences don’t have. Then the original CFP was formed and placed all 5 on equal footing in both financial payouts and and power
Fast forward to now and everything has changed:
- The NCAA has stripped the Pac-12 of its autonomy status. Thus there are now only 4 autonomy conferences
- the revenue variance between the former power leagues has mushroomed to the point where the top 2 make nearly double what the next 2 make, and those are more than double whoever comes in at number 5, which is currently the AAC but could be slightly surpassed by the NewPac, Which will still be less than 50% of Big12 and ACC and less than 25% of the SEC and B1G
- the CFP reshuffled its governance to basically be “whatever the B1G and SEC decide” and the revenue split is now 58% to those 2, 32% to the Big12 and ACC, and 10% to Notre Dame and everyone else. This is codified through the 2028 season and any future look in, if triggered, will use playoff appearances and results to change the payout percentages. That isn’t going to benefit any G6 league
The “Power” era of college sports/football ended this past summer. The Super 2 era has begun
Total happiness, rising tides lifts all boats. Gonzaga just lifted PAC-12 mens/women's basketball programs the national BB conversation.
Helps with relevance.
Awesome get for the Pac. Welcome Gonzaga! Go Beavs!!
Gonzaga is a fantastic add by the PAC. Great basketball (both men’s and women’s), but also solid, successful, and well supported in the other sports as well.
Baseball program good.
This new PAC conference should root for the Cleveland Guardians this playoff with so many alumni on that team.: Beaver's Stephen Kwan & Mathew Boyd, Coug's Kyle Manzardo, and Zag's Eli Morgan. That doesn't even include the top MLB draft pick of OSU's Travis Bazzana who the Guardians took #1 overall. Go Guards!
great facility as well.
Mark Few is 61. The Pac better hope Gonzaga puts away some of its new cash in-flow for a coach that can sustain the program.
Though Dan Monson was 52-17 in the prior two seasons in a top heavy WCC.
The Zags announced earlier this summer that assistant coach and GU/Jesuit HS alum Brian Michaelson is the officially the next "coach in waiting" to step in once Few retires (the same "position" once held by Tommy Lloyd). B Mike will be 43 later this month. He's never been a head coach before, but he's been on Few's staff for more than a decade and knows the GU academic and athletic leadership and culture inside and out. Sound familiar? Go Zags!
Beaver alumni and fan here. I am excited to have Gonzaga in the PAC!! Great basketball brand/school and competitive in baseball and that should only get stronger. Welcome aboard Bulldogs!!!!
100%
It will be an easy transition, just like the Aztecs going from Fisher to Dutch. not so easy in football.
Few likely coaches into 70's if he's still having fun :). Can't wait to watch em in Gill. I think OSU, WSU and Gonzaga should bring back the Far West Classic - 8 team, 3 day tournament, guaranteeing every team 3 games, back to back to back.
Yes Sir, Boss!!!
61? Mark Few is still young with a lot left in the tank.
They have already identified the next coach.
Backdoor (As grouchy Father in Law, Art): They're not twinkling Clark.
Clark Griswold: I know. Thanks for noticing Art
Maybe the traitor 10 will begin to realize what they had and threw away.
Great job PAC members!
Oregon is set to earn $20m more this fiscal year than they did last year, and the upside grows by $15m in year 3 and another $30m+ in year 7. I don’t think they or any of the others are at all disappointed with their decisions. The NewPac is a nice G6 league, but those ten are all in much better places
And you'd better spend that money on players because this is what Oregon has to do: spend more money than anybody else just to keep its position as a 2nd tier program in the Big10. Relax, over time, you're gonna learn to live with that status. With regards to GU joining the Pac12, it's awesome. This is a tectonic shift for the conference!
Wow who knows more about being a 2nd tier program in football than the beavers
Phil's spent $2B to be grouped with Michigan State, Rutgers and Maryland!
Laughable from a bitter stupid beav
Hahahahahahaha. You are hilarious! I’m happy for the PAC. At least you are consistent in your bitterness and jealousy.
I'm just pointing out the facts. tOSU and Michigan are the Alphas of the Big10. As a Duck fan, if you're happy being a Beta, that's your business. I've noticed when good news breaks for the Pac12, Duck fan is quick to try to spin it into something bad, it's become a theme on social media.
Long live the Pac12.
I'd rather be a bitter Beaver than an arrogant Duck
Fun!
Never fails. The Dbaggiest among the schmuck fan populace can't help themselves. They just hafta comment on articles and news that doesn't concern anything remotely connected to the entity they claim to support so they can further cement they're reputation as the most noxious fans in collegiate sports.
I have noticed you are a very harshly opinionated person. LOL. I am merely responding to the Orange bitter comments. I wish the Beavers well.
My comment was meant for someone else whose fromage is of a higher order of olfactory unpleasantness. In that context my opinion is not unduly harsh.
Everything about this has put the UW right in there with Rutgers, Purdue, Northwestern and Indiana (which like the past couple of seasons may have caught lightning in a bottle with one really good QB). And yes, they will have to spend and sacrifice to maintain that middle-of-the pack status. It won't get better and local recruits will get even more exposure to Ohio State and Michigan and want to try running with the big dogs.
Stop with the NewPac Frozen Peas product placement. It's a real douchelorde tone.
I think Doug is having some trouble adjusting to his new lunchroom of the Big-10 and figuring out who to sit with. He just needs to make some new buddies with Maryland or Rutgers and start sparring with those folks instead.
Doug won't admit it, but part of him misses his old friends--those that all grew up together in his neighborhood with relationships which reach back for decades.
It's gonna take some time but he'll get there. In the meantime, we need to be patient with him.
I'm sure in due time he'll be be taking social media wedgies and nougies from the kids in the neighborhood he just moved into.
You do wonder what Kyle “skip town” Smith is thinking. But to stay positive: I think this is great for the PAC, and great for college ball. Congrats to the PAC leadership team.
Who knows what he is thinking but Being the Head Coach at Stanford in the ACC does not suck.
I don't see any traitors coming back entirely, but I do see a splitting of Football from the other sports. Why not have the Pac Coast Big10 teams find a home back in the PAC for all the other sports as the Big10 tries to add more FB Powers like FSU, Miami, UNC, & CLemson. The Big10 could benefit by letting those West COast teams play in the PAC while keeping their FB brands which basically pay the bills Why woudn't Fox Sports see that benefit as they compete with ESPN by adding the Pac12 Network to their streaming platform like they have with the Big 10 Network. That way they keep all those Big10 brands in all sports while adding the top ACC brands to the Big 10 fold. That doesn't even include if Stanford/Cal jump with all sports back to the PAC when the ACC implodes and if SMU is game why not add them A PAC conference with 10 or 11 schools that play FB and 5 more top Brands with all other sports including BBall would certainly merit a strong media contract.
I'm still hoping for that possibility when those you call traitors turn into collaborators to help maintain the viability of big time college sports on the West Coast and reduce the travel burden on so many of these college athletes..
Too many media contracts in the way. I don't see things moving back to the way they were for quite some time, at least a decade, but likely never.
This goes to the theme many of us have discussed that there will be a Super League of 32 or so teams, operating as the NFL minor league. It would make sense for the NFL to keep their developmental players in such a college Super Conference so they get playing time under the tutelage and physical care of their NFL parent team. Right now, the NFL carries a 10 player development team that gets no playing time AND the NFL loses control of the revenue of the teams in the top tier of college. Now, if a Super Conference does develop, 1:1 with the NFL, there is only room for one team to match with Seattle (maybe the Ducks could be the 49ers affiliate). It will be interesting as the NFL / FSN / ESPN breakup the B1G and SEC to form this Super Conference. It is definitely coming. Here is an interesting article on this topic: https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/why-nfls-player-development-model-could-be-transformed-by-one-persistent-longtime-agent/
No, but I’m happy for the PAC!
Doubtful
Great addition for the Pac 12. They are showing everyone how to make chicken salad out of chicken shit! No, this isn't valid P2 or P4 football conference, but it's sure the best conference available to the teams involved. Kudos to conference leadership for finally realizing that and capitalizing on the West Coast connections. Focus on what made college sports great, the regional appeal.
Gonzaga not only brings in great men's basketball and a solid baseball program, it also helps Scott Rueck and his national women's basketball program as the Zags are perennial NCAA tournament participants in WBB. This was a game changer in more ways than one.
I'm with you. UNLV or Memphis, whoever bites first. That sets the PAC up as both a great FBall & Bball conference. Then wait for the rest of the Power 4 shakeup with the ACC issues. Welcome Zags.
That’s not a great FB conferences. It’s a fun one. It’s a competitive one. But it’s not great
Wondering if they could do a little better... with football additions.
I wonder too. Did Utah ever sign that Big12 grant of rights?
Who’s out there that moves the needle? It’s basically Memphis and that’s minimal. It probably hurts the AAC more than I helps the Pac, but in the grand landscape it’s a blip
Great is all relative. It's better than any other football conference in the West.
Well not the Big Ten, but beyond that of course
No doubt Big 10 and SEC are the best two football conferences, The SEC, as its namesake confirms, is in the Southeast footprint. The BIg10 is a Midwestern conference that first moved East (PSU, Rutgers, & Maryland) and then grabbed the 4 West Coast schools as they became National. No one would pretend they are a football conference in the West.
The point was that the best football programs in the West reside in the Big10. The NewPac will likely be a very competitive western G6 conference. Which is a great 2nd tier
Disagree...The SEC has only ever really had 2, maybe 3 elite teams per season. Missouri was nothing in the Big-8 or Big-12, then suddenly they become SEC division champions their first year in the SEC...They've won the division multiple times. That right there tells you how over hyped that conference really is. The Big is the same way, there are only 2 maybe 3 elite teams, the others are about like everyone else.
The 2026 Pac 12 Would be the 3rd ranked football conference in terms of net rating right now with the addition of either UNLV, Tulane or Memphis. They currently sit 4th without any of them:
1. SEC- 82.13
2. Big 10 - 77.25
3. Big 12 - 77.20
4. Pac 12 - 74.61
5. ACC - 74.22
6. Sun Belt East - 64.53
7. I-A Ind. - 63.94
8. AAC - 63.50
9. SUN Belt West - 63.27
10. Mountain West - 62.71
UNLV has signed a commitment to the MWest...They are not going to be a PAC school. The Mascot is a REBEL and they are committed to the Southern Tory Brit side.
One of the things that really appeals to me about the New Pac is its regionality. I really hated the idea of adding a Florida school. Texas is fine, Louisiana is a stretch, but maybe OK. But Florida is just a bad, bad idea.
No frozen veggies here. The conference name is PAC12.
A few days ago pundits were bashing the rebuild efforts of the PAC12 as inept, today they are brilliant. Gotta love it. Very happy with the addition of GU; they play a number of sports in addition to MBB and WBB that make them a good fit. Can't wait to see what moves the conference makes next. Go Beavs and the new PAC!
I really hope Teresa Gould and the current Pac-12 group keep to a 'geographic paln". I never liked the Tulane, etc. group because then we would become more like Cal and Stanford, having to spend more time in the air than on the ground. Not good for the student-athletes.....or the climate footprint of those schools!
A great addition to the new Pac-12, men's and women's basketball, plus baseball. Keeping schools regional helps each conference school budget wise, travel time and helps build rivalries. I'm very happy to see that news of Gonzaga joining the Pac-12 was accomplished with NO leaks. Any additional schools interested in taking a "peak under the hood" have to like that about the new Pac-12.
I meant "peek under the hood." Sorry, Senioritis cropped up again.
LOL! I know what you mean. Noe why did I go into the kitchen?
This is good news! I have grandkids at both Gonzaga and Boise State. Go PAC12!
Thanks John! Huge win for the Pac12! Gonzaga has has very good baseball program as well. I would not be surprised to see St Mary’s join. Excellent basketball program . Very interesting that talks with Grand Canyon are ongoing. They also have a very good baseball program!
No football but you are correct, as a Phoenix based person, GCU is high profile in Bball and Baseball. They are competitive with ASU in both, though don't play them much
They are also very competitive with ASU cost wide, in spite of being a private school. Not to mention a basketball legend (Jerry Colangelo) is on GCUs board. Jerry gets things done.
It was Phoenix Sun star (Coangelo hire) Dan Majerle who got their BBall program on the map. Then they got into a fight over compensation or something (one year of a losing record?!) and he was gone. But Majerle's one-time presence has given the program an aura of excellence
they played straight up with 4 year Six PAC schools when they were a JC program. They could be a real power in baseball if they move to the PAC.
I like having Gonzaga in the Conference. OSU needs to invest much more in Men's Basketball.
1000%. They need to go hire a great coach. It won't get done with the present staff.
I agree. Tinkle is a good person, and did a very good job at Montana. It just has not been achieved on a consistent basis at OSU.
Only OSU would have given him this long...most would have fired him coming off the Elite 8 when they won 3 games. It hasn't been much better since. They need to find a performer that has been there done that before at this level.
I agree. Unfortunately the OSU Athletic Director extended his contract after the last NCAA appearance in 2021, and built in a high buyout. The combination of those two items have made it very difficult to fire Tinkle, even though it should have been done (OSU is 27-69 since the 2021 NCAA run). In my opinion it is the AD's fault that Tinkle is still coach.
100% and it is imperative now that they move onward. He has two years to get this ship righted and in position to play against the best this conference will offer, but at present, they will struggle to beat the Big 3...Gonzaga, SDSU and Boise.
AWESOME! Just fricking AWESOME! “The reports of the Pac12’s demise have been greatly exaggerated!” Eat crow national media!!!!
"The conference’s KenPom score would now rank fifth nationally, slipping in front of the ACC" That is just mind-blowing. The ACC was THE basketball conference 30-40 years ago with Duke, North Carolina, NC State, Wake Forest even NC-Winston Salem. It is the conference of Michael Jordan, David Thompson, Christian Laettner, Tim Duncan, Ralph Sampson, on and on.
This move solidifies the PAC's position that they should be a power conference. This is currently the 3rd ranked hoops conference by Ken Pom without any possible additions. You have 6 schools in the top 45 and 6 tourney teams form last year:
17. Gonzaga
20. San Diego State
26. Boise State
36. Colorado State
38. Utah State
44. Washington State
And the Beavs who ran to the elite 8 in 2021 and are still 28th in all time hoops wins.
Meanwhile The 2026 Pac 12 Would be the 3rd ranked football conference in terms of net rating right now with the addition of either UNLV, Tulane or Memphis. They currently sit 4th without any of them:
1. SEC- 82.13
2. Big 10 - 77.25
3. Big 12 - 77.20
4. Pac 12 - 74.61
5. ACC - 74.22
6. Sun Belt East - 64.53
7. I-A Ind. - 63.94
8. AAC - 63.50
9. SUN Belt West - 63.27
10. Mountain West - 62.71
Power conference argument is beyond legitimized based on new spending requirements and performance.
Spending isn’t even close to power conference levels
Also, the term power conference is largely a media concoction which originally made sense but has now created confusion in a landscape that has changed drastically since the term was coined. At that time, there were 5 conference whose revenue, spending, and influence were mostly on par with each other within a roughly 15-20% margin. Any the NCAA at the time voted to grant them some autonomy powers that other Conferences don’t have. Then the original CFP was formed and placed all 5 on equal footing in both financial payouts and and power
Fast forward to now and everything has changed:
- The NCAA has stripped the Pac-12 of its autonomy status. Thus there are now only 4 autonomy conferences
- the revenue variance between the former power leagues has mushroomed to the point where the top 2 make nearly double what the next 2 make, and those are more than double whoever comes in at number 5, which is currently the AAC but could be slightly surpassed by the NewPac, Which will still be less than 50% of Big12 and ACC and less than 25% of the SEC and B1G
- the CFP reshuffled its governance to basically be “whatever the B1G and SEC decide” and the revenue split is now 58% to those 2, 32% to the Big12 and ACC, and 10% to Notre Dame and everyone else. This is codified through the 2028 season and any future look in, if triggered, will use playoff appearances and results to change the payout percentages. That isn’t going to benefit any G6 league
The “Power” era of college sports/football ended this past summer. The Super 2 era has begun
2024 Tournament, record by conference
12-5 – ACC
10-2 – Big East
10-6 – Big Ten
6-4 – Pac12 (Oregon, WSU, UA, Colorado)
8-8 – SEC
7-7 – Big 12
4-6 – Mt. West (N. Mexico, Nevada, SDSU, BSU, Utah St, Colo St)
2-2 – West Coast (Gonzaga, St. Mary’s)