The once-famed Pac-12 faces demise after over 100 years of history and its role as the premiere West Coast athletics conference, dramatically impacting college athletics and high-school recruiting as conference changes occur rapidly.
Pac-12 began to face decline last year when USC and UCLA signed contracts with the Big Ten. Within the last 18 months, eight other schools have departed for various conferences with founding members University of Washington and University of Oregon joining the Big Ten on Aug. 4 and Cal joining the Atlantic Coast Conference on Sept. 1.
These abrupt conference changes have left a considerable mark on high school recruiting, as student-athletes consider conference competition, longer distances in travel for away games and more competition when committing to schools. Intensifying competition and potential provide opportunities for growth can make or break an athlete’s decision.
“I was looking for a team on an upward trajectory and that’s going to get better before and when I attend,” said varsity soccer junior Elle Kivo, who announced her commitment to Cal after the change in conference. “Cal’s move to the ACC brings in better recruits, allowing athletes to play against the top teams in the nation, which improves the athletes much more.”
The collapse of the Pac-12 is largely attributed to their limited television exposure and unsuccessful 12 year media rights deal with ESPN and Fox. The issue worsened as more schools left the conference and made it difficult to sign a greater media rights deal for those who stayed. Concerned for the preservation of match-ups and collegiate traditions, many rival schools such as USC and UCLA moved together.
The Pac-12’s west coast centric conference allowed for regional games that were easier for both student-athletes and fans to travel to. Now, athletes face the possibility of traveling across the country to compete while carrying their academic load, facing a drastic lifestyle change that may impact recruiting decisions and academic goals for high school athletes. While this leads to better quality match-ups and national exposure, there are many concerns about the formation of mega-conferences and its meaning for collegiate sports.
“What’s left now that the Pac-12 is gone are huge super-conferences,” varsity football captain junior Joseph Harper said. “The Big Ten and SCC are now powerhouses who would dominate athletic spaces, lacking diversity amongst the teams.”
Pac-12’s demise, however, also comes with benefits of much greater exposure for athletes, and the beginnings of professional coverage and opportunities. The NCAA Name, Image, Likeness rule, which went into effect in 2021, applied on a grander stage means there are more possibilities for student-athletes to build their brands and name recognition from their collegiate experience.
