Conference realignment continues to rage out west, much to the confusion of many people in the rest of the country. Why didn’t the two Pac-12 schools and the Mountain West just merge? Why are there almost $150 million in exit fees to just recreate the Mountain West? Why are the conferences bracing for a court battle after a lawsuit filed by the Pac-12 on Tuesday?
Let’s answer your questions and explain how we got here.
Why does the Pac-12 need more schools?
The Pac-12 dropped to two members this fall when USC and UCLA left for the Big Ten (a move the schools announced in 2022), Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah left for the Big 12 (announced in 2023) and Stanford and Cal left for the ACC (announced in 2023). Those two remaining members were Oregon State and Washington State.
NCAA bylaws provide a two-year grace period for conferences to get back up to a required eight members to be a full conference. College Football Playoff leaders determined late last year that conferences must have eight members for their champions to be eligible for an automatic qualifying CFP spot, and the NCAA Division I Board of Directors announced the Pac-12 no longer had “autonomous” status, a designation that grants some leagues certain rule-making powers.
With the addition of Boise…
