College Football Expansion: Coach Thinks Pac-12 Could Collapse
College football expansion and realignment could take another dramatic turn and could bring about the end of a Power Five conference.
That's according to one former football coach who believes the Pac-12 could cease to exist given the major realignment that has already taken place.
Former Oregon head coach and athletic director Mike Bellotti says he believes the league could collapse with the pending departure of USC and UCLA to the Big Ten ahead of the 2024 football season.
"Sense of doom"
"I have that impending sense of doom," he told CBS Sports.
"All my life, I've always been a West Coast guy... I can just see [the Pac-12] falling apart."
Bellotti added that the Pac-12 is "teetering on the brink."
More: College Football Expansion: What Schools Could Move Next
Where the Pac-12 is now
It's safe to call the Pac-12 one of the "losers" of the recent college football expansion moves.
USC and UCLA are two of the conference's prestige brands and are both located in the league's primary, and the nation's second-largest, media market in Los Angeles and southern California.
By losing those two schools and their large exposure and viewership, the Pac-12 is now in a weaker position and has to work much harder to obtain a new media rights deal, a process that is yet to bear any fruit.
Big 12, Big Ten in pursuit
In addition to losing those brands, the Pac-12 could be on the verge of losing more as reports indicate that the Big 12 and Big Ten are both strongly considering adding current members of the West Coast league.
Big 12 officials have targeted the two Arizona schools in addition to Utah and Colorado as part of their latest expansion plans, according to insiders.
And representatives from Oregon and Washington have already been in contact with Big Ten decision makers about a potential merger, though none of these interests have materialized into any formal offers as of yet.
What's next?
Early in the 21st century, the Pac 10 and then Pac-12 looked to be playing at a level equal to the other powers in college football. USC won the national championship and Oregon emerged as a national power shortly after.
But in recent memory, the conference has sent just two teams to the College Football Playoff — Oregon in 2014 and Washington in 2016 — and it's already lost one other CFP contender — USC — and could lose the other two soon, too if the Big Ten or Big 12 get their way.
The Pac-12 needs to take a more aggressive stance or its future could be under threat, at least according to one former coach.
(CBS)
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