Pac-12 Departures

I have been in a partial news blackout over the last week and missed all the drama...but I can understand why the conference fell apart with its abysmal leadership.  Did I read somewhere the Pac-12 was going to Apple+ to stream its games?  SMH.

But I can still hear Bill Walton saying over and over, "The Conference of Champions," and now have to wonder who will get custody of Bill.  

The Conference of Chumpians... I think this whole thing is a crock. Stop chasing money. The coaches and universities chide a kid for chasing NIL, but then sell out to the highest taker. It's very disappointing.

An interesting read pertaining to basketball...

What the Pac-12’s Demise Means for College Hoops

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/what-the-pac-12-s-demise-means-for-college-hoops/ar-AA1f1fs0?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=1b2e38ecc8d64802936d9e572bf96a24&ei=38

Stanford and Cal are gone from the PAC4, joining SMU in a jump to the ACC starting in 2024.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/stanford-cal-smu-join-acc-conference-membership-growing-to-18-schools-as-latest-realignment-domino-falls/

It looks like Anson Dorrance dream that Stanford Women’s soccer will float off by itself to “wither on the vine” has instead turned into his worst nightmare.

It looks like the PAC2 will have to go someplace like the Mountain West.

So the Pac-12 starts their football season with Utah beating a ranked SEC team in Florida, and Colorado, a 1-win team last year, going to TCU and beating the team that played in the national championship last year. But because more people who own TVs live east of the Mississippi River, the conference had to be dismantled.

This from Stanford Women's Head Coach Tara VanDerveer about the break-up of the conference during yesterday's Pac-12 Media Day:

"It's heartbreaking."

"I'm in a bad dream."  

"This is a nightmare."

The Pac-12 coaches picked Stanford to finish 3rd this coming season behind Utah and UCLA. Oregon, surprisingly, is picked to finish 8th.

Pilots WBB play Oregon in the Chiles Center on November 30, and are in Palo Alto to face the Cardinal on December 15.

I heard a local radio discussion of Oregon State's plans now that they and WSU have prevailed in court for control of the Pac-2 assets, by a Beaver booster (i.e. not official school representative). OSU and WSU do not plan to join the Mountain West Conf. or affiliate with them in football; that is seen as a downgrade. They will have independent schedules for two years with a mix a Power 5 schools and some MWC schools. After two years the MWC TV deal expires, and they can pick and choose MWC schools to build a new Pac-whatever conference.

For non-football sports, they will likely have affiliations. WCC was mentioned as a possible baseball affiliation.

I wonder if they'll be more interested in home and home basketball games with UP?

up7587 wrote:I wonder if they'll be more interested in home and home basketball games with UP?

It turns out, yes!

Interestingly, OSU and WSU are not playing home and home with each other. WSU plays in Corvallis, and that's it.

Watched some of the baseball "super regionals' today as Oregon and Oregon State both lost and are done for the season.

Officially, I guess those were the last two games to be played by the Pac-12, ever.

Even if WSU and OSU control the Pac-12 assets, as some suggest, I do not see the Pac-12 name ever returning.

It's now the Power Four!

With the Ducks move to the BIG10, UO has finally gone to a court design that is easier on the fans...if not the players also.

It still has plenty of trees, and it would appear the "missing duck formation" to honor Matthew Knight is still there, but the colors return to what many of us of certain age remember.

At least there is a mid court line.