How remaining Pac-12 members view conference realignment options after Colorado move

The era of conference realignment continues to move forward, as it was announced last weekend that Colorado would be leaving the Pac-12 Conference to join the Big 12 yet again. The Buffaloes join USC and UCLA as programs that will step away from the Pac-12 in 2024, leaving the remaining teams in the conference at an interesting crossroads.

On3’s Andy Stales spoke with John Canzano about the Pac-12’s latest moves, asking him if it’s time for the Pac-12’s remaining top teams like Utah, Oregon, and Washington to start considering leaving the conference as well.

“I think they needed to listen early, and I think they did some of that,” Canzano said. “But I think Oregon in particular looked at the Big Ten first and also maybe the SEC and they didn’t get a lot of warmth in return for those. Because I think Oregon and their brand, they see themselves as kind of above the Big 12 Conference and a tent pole in the Pac-12. They also value the access to the playoff, so as long as the Pac-12 has access to that playoff I do think there’s a motivation for Oregon to stay put.”

There is no doubt that Oregon is one of the biggest brands across all of collegiate athletics, putting them in slightly different circumstances compared to the other remaining Pac-12 programs. The Ducks brand name, iconic uniforms, and top-of-the-line facilities will always keep them relevant relative to the national conversation, making it to where other conferences likely need them more than they need a given conference.

“They have the great equalizer in Phil Knight, they aren’t hurting for revenue, it doesn’t matter as much in Eugene that they’re 30 or 35 million dollars behind the Big Ten Conference in annual revenue because Phil Knight can write a check,” Canzano explained. “So I think Oregon was thinking about that plus a complex relationship with Oregon State, and I really do wonder how much pushback you’d get from the state capital if tried to separate those two scoops. I think we’ve seen some of that at Washington and Washington State as well.”

But a big factor regarding conference realignment that’s especially prevalent to the conference’s top teams is access to the College Football Playoff. With the CFP expanding to 12 teams starting in 2024, the Pac-12 losing some competition is not the worst thing in the world for the conference’s top dogs, who could potentially have easier access to the College Football Playoff’s expanded model.

“And then to your Utah point, I just think those three schools all access value to the playoff and I think Utah knows now because it’s a two-time champion it can get there from the Pac-12. So as long as this conference can stay together, get a reasonable amount of money in this media rights deal, I think all three were thinking all along hey, we’re better suited in a 10 team conference or a 12 team conference than going anywhere else,” Canzano said.

The future could potentially be bright for a few teams in the Pac-12 regarding postseason play, but Canzano still believes that the conference’s programs should learn from Colorado’s situation and be prepared for any and all unpredictable changes moving forward.

“But I think they all have to be listening at this point, because as Colorado proved, you can’t really trust the people in the room right now. They’re all pirates so to speak,” Canzano said. “Colorado was telling people a week before they left hey we’re all in. Behind closed doors in the meeting I’ve talked to other members there and they all kind of went yeah yeah you’re going to do what’s best for you.”

“But they were getting messaging from Colorado that said hey we’re all in and they should not have been surprised by this because I think Phillip DiStefano had gone public, we heard it, but at this point everybody’s got to do what’s best for themselves. But again, the messaging internally was not matching what was happening externally.”