Looking back at the time Larry Scott opted to not add Texas and Oklahoma to the Pac-12
The year is 2011, the finale of the book turned filmed series Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 was the most popular film at the time, Sunday Night Football was the top TV show, and Modern Family (ABC) won an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series.
There was also a major move, more so non-move in college football during this year that we were reminded of on social media on Thursday. Former Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott decided that it was in the conference's best interest to not add programs to the conference. What were those programs? None other than current Big 12 members and future SEC members, Texas and Oklahoma.
In an interview with ESPN's Ted Miller, Scott revealed that he and the conference felt there wasn't a need to add the two blue bloods of the sport.
"We could have expanded, but the deal didn't make any sense at the end of the day for us, especially given the position that we are in," Scott said. "There is a very high bar. It's hard to imagine very many scenarios for our conference to expand because the bar is so high."
A bar that apparently was far too high for the likes of not only Texas and Oklahoma, but also their respective in-state rivals Texas Tech and Oklahoma State. A decision that at the time was somehow viewed as the right one by members of the conference, with USC athletic director Pat Haden even saying the conference didn't need 16 teams.
"I don't think there is any rush for us to get to 16" said Haden.
A statement that will live in infamy, as USC later went on to sabotage the Pac-12's chances to expand again with adding Big 12 teams in 2021 following news that Texas and Oklahoma were joining the SEC. Not to mention, the Pac-12 is now on life-support a little over a decade later as on top of not adding any programs at that time, they ended up losing USC and UCLA to the Big Ten last July, and lost Colorado to the Big 12 on Wednesday after being unable to present media rights numbers for over a year.
The conference that once had two of the biggest brands in college athletics wanting to join their conference and as recently as last year having Big 12 teams begging to join, is now sitting at nine teams and hoping and praying that no one else will leave their conference.
There's a saying that history often repeats itself, and one of Miller's questions at the end of his piece is far beyond irony.
"Is the Pac-12 merely playing a game of chicken with other programs?"
To answer Miller's question 12 years later; yes. And they are losing with a chance of no return. Scott hasn't been employed by the Pac-12 since 2021, but his decisions for the conference feel as if he is still leading the charge.
The conference is now attempting to glue and tape themselves back together, while the Big 12 is sitting pretty with new members and a media rights deal.
