Without UCLA and USC, what’s the future of Pac-12 women’s basketball?

A Pac-12 school has a certain character. The beautiful weather of the West Coast, a strong academic and athletic environment, and a propensity for success.

For years, that vibe has been perhaps best epitomized by UCLA and USC, schools that boast 120 and 111 national titles, respectively, across all sports, and happen to be located in ideal places to conduct mid-winter recruiting visits. Their presence has been integral to the identity of the conference of champions.

But the Los Angeles schools have only one more full season left in the Pac-12 before moving to the Big Ten. When they exit, a piece of this conference’s fabric goes with them and presents new challenges from recruiting dynamics to losing a foothold in the United States’ second-largest media market. The changing landscape presents unique questions for the future of Pac-12 women’s college basketball in particular.

Although there’s disappointment and curiosity about what’s to come, there’s one aspect of its DNA that the conference refuses to change: the winning.

The Pac-12 calls itself the best women’s basketball conference in the country for good reason. Over the past 10 years, six different programs (Cal, Stanford, Oregon State, Washington, Oregon and Arizona) have made the NCAA Tournament Final Four,…