Paul Finebaum rips Pac-12's status as an FBS powerhouse after Colorado confirm Big 12 move: "It's a trainwreck"
With Pac-12 dominating the college football news cycle after losing Deion Sanders and Colorado to the Big 12, veteran journalist Paul Finebaum is the latest to have an opinion about the move.
Sanders and the Buffaloes will be leaving the Pac-12 beginning in 2024, marking the peak of the turbulence within the conference.
This isn't the first instance of a team leaving the Pac-12, with the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins parting ways with the conference. With the Buffaloes' latest announcement, Paul Finebaum ripped into the Pac-12 and its status as a Power Five conference and an FBS Powerhouse.
"The bigger story is what happens to the Pac-12. It’s already a challenged league losing USC next year to the Big 10 and UCLA. But, with this departure, I think you have to honestly look at the Pac-12 no longer as a Power Five conference. I’m talking about in ‘24, I mean, it’s a trainwreck," Finebaum said on ESPN's "SportsCenter."
With Sanders and the Buffaloes set to move to the Big 12, the Pac-12 has lost its biggest name right after the exits of two of their biggest teams last summer. The conference, which has more championships than any other, now faces an unprecedented crisis about its status and future.
Can the Pac-12 survive? Paul Finebaum isn't too sure
The Pac-12 is often referred to as the Conference of Champions. Over the years, the conference has produced more NCAA championships than any other Power Five conference. But its declining status as a major threat to opposing conferences has driven a stake into the future of the Pac-12.
The Pac-12 is still without a media rights contract, with the current deal expiring next summer. In the eyes of Paul Finebaum, the Pac-12 may have fallen out as a force in college football, and he dished out some harsh criticism about the future of the conference.
Paul Finebaum said:
"You’re losing your biggest name in USC, and now, moving forward, you’re losing your biggest star in Deion Sanders. This league is slowly coming undone and might as well just be pushed off into the Pacific because it is no longer moving forward, a relevant conference in college football."
With the conference bleeding memberships left, right and center, Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff will have a hard time securing a significant media deal for a dying conference. The loss of the Buffaloes adds another major body blow to a league that has been rapidly losing relevance over the last few years.
In the coming months, consolidating its remaining members and finding new programs to replace the ones leaving will be the primary goal for Kliavkoff and the Pacific-12. For a conference with a history as rich as the Pac-12, football fans will certainly hope that it survives the current crisis.