Pac-12 dying "more & more every day" grabs the attention of independent schools in FBS, who call the recent realignments a "complete disaster"
The Pac-12 has been decimated by conference realignment as only four of the 12 schools will remain in the conference past the 2023 season. Notre Dame Fighting Irish athletic direction Jack Swarbrick labeled the latest realignment wave as a disaster and said that the conference may be on the verge of dying on "The Dan Patrick Show."
Brett McMurphy of The Action Network shared Swarbick's comments, tweeting:
"Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick tells @dpshow it’s 'a complete disaster' what’s happened in college athletics. 'Everybody in the industry has to take responsibility here I'm not excluding myself from that. I think the decision making lost its way in terms on the focus of the student athlete & what's primarily best for them.'
"On Stanford/Cal to ACC: 'You can't have 2 of the great academic institutions in the world not have a place to play. We're working on (a solution). There's still consideration of the ACC as a home for those schools.” On Pac-12 dying: “It's looking that way more & more every day, yes.'"
Check out Brett McMurphy's tweet here.
While Notre Dame has not been affected by realignment, as it remains independent, it has been recruited by several conferences, most notably the Big Ten and Atlantic Coast Conference. Meanwhile, the Pac-12 is looking to salvage what is left of the conference after its inability to land a long-term media rights deal has led to a mass exodus.
How has the Pac-12 been affected by conference realignment?
The UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans were the first to announce their departure, as, in June 2022, they shared their plans to join the Big Ten in 2024. The remaining 10 schools attempted to negotiate a long-term media rights deal; however, they were unable to gain any traction on that front after losing the Los Angeles media market.
In July, the Colorado Buffaloes became the next team to jump ship as they announced that they would be joining the Big 12. After receiving a media rights offer, the Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies announced their intention to join the Big Ten earlier this month. On the same day, the Arizona Wildcats, Arizona State Sun Devils and Utah Utes shared that they will be joining the Big 12.
The California Bears, Oregon State Beavers, Stanford Cardinal and Washington State Cougars are the only schools remaining in the conference. Each school, however, has been in talks with other conferences. Meanwhile, the Pac-12 is reportedly looking to expand to keep the four remaining schools from departing.