USC and UCLA are leaving the Pac-12

By Jessica Roberts on June 30, 2022 • ( 1 Comment )

Update 12:24 PM – It’s a done deal

USC and UCLA's move to the Big Ten is all but wrapped up, sources tell @TheAthletic.

Could be an announcement today.
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) June 30, 2022

Original article below

According to Jon Wilner, the Pac-12 is on the verge of being broken up by the two LA schools. The Mercury News columnist is reporting that the Trojans and Bruins are headed to the Big10 as early as 2024; he further speculates that the Big12 could be a landing spot for the rest of the conference.

USC, UCLA planning to leave the #Pac12. Could a merger with the Big 12 be an option for the remaining schools?https://t.co/BZKMI0IX6v
— Jon Wilner (@wilnerhotline) June 30, 2022

This is, obviously, an unmitigated disaster for the Pac-12 and would spell the end for the nearly 70 year old conference. Without the LA market, the value of the upcoming TV contract plummets and it leaves the rest of the schools in the conference in a dangerous position. While Washington and Oregon have the market (UW) and the recent success across the board (UO) to be an easy draw elsewhere; the up and down performance of the Arizona schools, the middling size of the mountain schools, and the smallest schools in the conference are left holding the bag.

As much as I love WSU, I highly doubt it’s an attractive option for the Big12…especially with how remote it is the distance from any of the other Big12 programs. Oregon State, while closer to I5, is also a small and remote school that would pose significant travel problems.

If this goes down, the Mountain and Arizona schools are probably snapped up by the Big12 no problem. I’m not so sure about the Bay Area schools, but they should but that media market has to be attractive. That leaves the two State schools up north out in the cold; I would expect that the Mountain West would move to grab them as they are fairly well known national brands…and they’d bring a share of the Seattle and Portland metro areas with them — most of WSU and OSU’s alumni live in those two areas.

But man, this fucking sucks.