Final week on the Pac-12 Convention’s annual soccer media days, Colorado was thought-about by far the league’s greatest flight threat. It’s USC and UCLA’s final season affiliated with the West Coasters earlier than, let’s be sincere, being promoted to the Massive Ten. The Energy 5 is really a supreme duo, with the Southeastern Convention, alongside the long run residence of the Bruins and Trojans, dominating the nation. The ACC, Massive 12, and Pac-12 are all dreaming of pondering they’re not the true purgatory trio, above the Group of 5. With a downsize by two coming subsequent summer time, and ongoing negotiations for a media-rights deal taking longer than anybody imagined, the gorgeous image Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff tried to color final Friday of the remaining convention groups committing to one another long-term was at all times hole, and took all of 5 days to fully expose.
The place there’s smoke there’s fireplace in faculty sports activities. One leak turns into a number of, turns into denial, turns right into a 180 into actuality. Identical to Deion Sanders changing into the top soccer coach at Colorado and leaving Jackson State, the Buffaloes are departing the Pac-12 for the Massive 12 imminently, effectively nonetheless reportedly. However you get the gist of what’s about to occur. The soon-to-be-Pac-9 both has to welcome new groups to the fold to maintain its membership even and comfortable, or right here comes the collapse. The extra doubtless consequence may also be the extra entertaining to look at. Congrats to new Massive 12 member Utah! The Holy Struggle in Energy 5 play? Depend me in!
Is Colorado’s impending departure for the convention it helped present in 1994, and left in 2011 to hitch the Pac-12, the tip of Kliavkoff’s child? Not essentially, however performing shortly in response is the one approach to put it aside. A loss resembling Oregon, Washington, or Stanford would’ve been deadly. Colorado wasn’t a high-priority member of the Pac-12. And you understand who understood that greatest? The Buffaloes, which is why in a Massive 12 with out Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Missouri, or Nebraska, they’ve the credentials to be an integral member from the soar. Lower than half of the brand new Massive 12’s membership could be founding members. However after all, the Massive 12 wouldn’t sit with an odd membership. So who’s becoming a member of Colorado is an attention-grabbing query. Whereas I floated Utah above, and that makes excellent geographical sense, I’m not betting on that coming true.
Changing Colorado with San Diego State, Fresno State, Boise State, or Wyoming is the band-aid the Pac-12 wants. If I’m Massive 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark, I’m going after the opposite former founder to depart who would hearken to a second stint: Nebraska. What precisely has labored out for the Cornhuskers since leaving the Massive 12? Soccer is a joke, regardless of how they pack stadiums, males’s basketball is the equal of Rutgers soccer, however worse, and please don’t deliver up the varsity’s volleyball workforce. It’s nice however isn’t a needle-mover within the grand scheme of faculty athletics. Why wouldn’t Nebraska be open to that transfer? If being irrelevant in one of many two supreme conferences is so nice, the place are the outcomes to again it up? Why not attempt to compete and stand up the ranks in your former residence?
This would be the newest chapter of this decade’s convention realignment, all as a cash seize. And sure, Nebraska will doubtless have extra automated income as a Massive Ten college, however at what price to athletic success? Colorado is in a singular place the place either side may benefit from a change in membership. The Pac-12 received’t miss having Sanders on one in all its sidelines. The Massive 12 would find it irresistible.