You thought the Pac-12 was dead? Yeah, so did the rest of the college football world.
After getting stripped and sold for parts, the once-mighty Pac-12 Conference was whittled down to a mere two programs: Oregon State and Washington State. With the conference's members bolting for greener pastures in the Big 10, Big 12, and even the ACC (I can't believe that wasn't a joke), the remaining members were left to fall into "Group of 5" obscurity, with many believing both schools would eventually join the Mountain West or American Conference.
But hold on, the Pac-12 has flipped the table and declared boldly that the game isn't over--they aren't done expanding.
Good morning! It's a beautiful new day 😎#BackThePac pic.twitter.com/jfIU1Gk22u
— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) September 12, 2024
In a move that came out of nowhere, the corpse of the Pac-12 has burst out of its grave and announced the addition of four schools from the Mountain West Conference. Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, and San Diego State were all announced to be joining the Pac-12 Conference, tripling the conference's membership.
"The Pac-12 Conference has a legacy of excellence in athletics and academics," the conference announced in a press release this morning, "It has produced championship-caliber individuals both on and off the field and will continue its lineage with the additions..."
In true Burt Macklin style, the Conference of Champions boldly declared, "you thought I was dead? Well, so did the president's... enemies!" These programs had been considered for power conference membership in the past--specifically Boise State and San Diego State--and will now finally get to move up, though not quite to the level of the SEC, Big 10, or even Big 12.
It's hard to know at this point what these schools will achieve for their conference that still only has a membership of 6 schools. Is the conference moving to create a G5 "super league" with the strongest athletic programs from across the remaining G5 conferences, or is the Pac-12 destined to become essentially a Mountain West Plus?
This news is too early in development to accurately speculate about the Pac-12's next moves, but I feel that I wouldn't be too bold to predict further expansion--no way they're satisfied as the Pac-6.