The Pac 10 Gained Two Teams but Took Two Steps Backward

Posted on June 30, 2010 by Jacob Bunn

Several weeks ago, when all of the expansion euphoria was taking place, the Pac 10 seemed, at least for a short while, to be holding all of the cards. With rumors circulating of possible Pac 10 additions like Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Colorado, and even Texas A&M, college football was sure to be in for a seismic power shift to the Pacific. But as quickly as the Pac 10 gained influence in the expansion phenomenon, things began to fall apart.

Colorado officially accepted its invitation to the Pac 10 on June 10th. This gave the conference eleven teams, but its sights were still set higher.

At one point, Pac 10 commissioner Larry Scott was confident he had several big name programs, including Texas, on board to come to the conference. Then, Texas A&M began to flirt with the SEC. It was widely speculated that Texas, though, was still headed for the Pac 10. Would Texas and Texas A&M split? The short answer is no. Texas, perhaps feeling slightly envious of little brother, put a stop to all the rumors and proclaimed that it was going to try to keep the Big 12 together. Texas A&M turned down the invitation to the SEC and proceeded to hang on to Texas’ coattail like a small child. All of the other Texas and Oklahoma teams that were supposedly headed to the Pac 10 also took a bow to the mighty Beevo and stayed in an ever disintegrating Big 12.

After all of the hoopla, the Pac 10 only gained Colorado from the illustrious list of potential Big 12 teams. That, of course, was not going to be sufficient considering the fact that it needed twelve teams to create a conference championship game. So, the Pac 10 decided to go to the equivalent of the discount rack at the thrift store, the Mountain West, and pick up a team. Utah became the twelfth member of the Pac 10.

The Pac 10 was already considered a mid-major filled league with the exception of USC. But, the Trojans recently stepped on a hand grenade, NCAA probation, from which they will not recover in the near future.

What has Colorado ever added to the Big 12 except for Ralphie, the live buffalo mascot, endangering the lives of players and coaches when he runs onto the field before each home game? Does anyone think they will be a serious threat in the Pac 10?

Utah has been a factor on the national radar screen for two years during the last decade, enough said.

The Pac 10’s prominence has been on the rise for the better part of the last fifteen years. USC’s success has been a huge contributor. It had a chance to go beyond the stars and align itself with the likes of the SEC. So much promise was shown for this league just a few short weeks ago, but oh how that amount of time can change things.

Contact Jacob Bunn at Jacob@bunnsports.com