When the PAC12 was poached apart by its greedy peers, its surviving members – Oregon State and Washington State – were forced to make a quickie alliance with the Mountain West, becoming kind of special members while accepting that its “power” status was a thing of the past. However, that realization proved too painful to accept. Instead of making the obvious move, which was to form a permanent partnership with the entire MWC, Oregon State and Washington State elected to murder their host and launch a pale facsimile of the band – the Lynyrd Skynyrd of college athletics.

Had Oregon State and Washington State joined the Mountain West, it would have made a strong 14-team conference with a sensible footprint. The commissioners could have either compromised on a new name (The PAC West sounds solid) or even acquiesced to the name recognition and called themselves the PAC 14. Nobody would have been unhappy by such an alliance. Most fans would have their rivalries left largely intact, and the conference could build a broadcast deal on a solid foundation.

Instead, the PAC12 chose violence, stealing Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State from the MWC and adding Gonzaga for hoops only, a silly move for everyone involved. Because eight members are required for conferences to exist, the wrestling has begun for new members, with both the PAC12 and MWC threatening its peer conferences with wild poaching schemes. The usual wannabe turncoats from the American (Memphis, UTSA, Tulane and USF) flirted with the PAC12 before realizing they already had a pretty good broadcast deal and decided to stick with unity. The Mountain West, desperate not to vanish like Marty McFly in his family photo, managed to convince UTEP to sign on, but whiffed on Texas State, who got to shine for a couple weeks in the national spotlight, a girl at her sweet 16 party.

What a mess. By dismissing the obvious, the PAC12 has hurled us into unrelenting chaos, providing a smokescreen for the BIG 10 and SEC to conceal their true intentions – turning college football into a platform all to themselves. Well done, everybody! We put all the douche canoes in charge.

Of course, the people suffering most from these shenannigans are the people college athletics care for the least – fans. My Memphis Tigers friends were completely prepared to travel to Pullman for its new rivalry with Cougars before school chancellors came to their senses. Look what it’s done to Texas State; the team hasn’t won a game since getting caught up in its sudden celebrity. (Also, supporters of the university may be dismayed to see how little SBC fans cared if the program left or stayed.)

Ultimately, the blame for all of this entropy falls on the SEC and BIG 10, who clearly wish to separate themselves from the rest of college sports, destroying a century’s old system for a few more bucks. But also point to the PAC12 for being big dorks. You’re more over than Moby.

AI Monstrosity