The Big Ten has a math problem, but it’s the preferable one to the alternative.
RandBall: The zombie Pac-12 has a taste for Mountain West flesh
Oh, you expected the Pac-12 to just disappear after all but two teams left for other conferences? Washington State and Oregon State have other ideas.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
September 12, 2024 at 4:24PM
The conference has 18 teams, eight more than its name would suggest, and leaders should probably resist any urge to tweak the name until they add two more teams and make it 20 (at which point they could call it the Big Tens).
In fairness, the Big Ten hasn’t had 10 teams in the more than three decades since Penn State joined. But it was the recent expansion from 12 to 14, then 18, that pushed this into the theater of the absurd.
The four most recent Big Ten additions were also subtractions from the Pac-12, leaving that conference with a far more precarious math problem.
The Pac-12 is down to two teams, noticeably fewer than 12. Washington State and Oregon State can’t play each other ad nauseum; to exist as a conference you need at least eight teams. What would seem to make the most sense is for those two schools to find another place to play.
But instead, we learned Wednesday that the zombie Pac-12 is not going away quietly. It is stumbling forward with a taste for Mountain West flesh, as I talked about on Thursday’s Daily Delivery podcast.
Per reports, four Mountain West schools are bolting for the Pac-12: Boise State, Colorado State, San Diego State and Fresno State. The news that the Pac-12 has unanimously accepted those four schools is expected to be official Thursday.
But is this hollowed out husk of a power conference really the Pac-12? The best comparison I saw on social media is this is akin to seeing a band you used to love, under the same name, but without most (or any) of the original members.
Why even bother? Ah, I’m sure it’s for the love and purity of amateur-ish athletics. Wait, sorry, it’s actually probably about money. The Pac-12 still has value as a property in media rights deals and it can afford to pay these schools to join the league.
Boise State and Co. can use that money to ramp up their programs, making them legitimate enough that sports fans channel surfing late at night will still stop and watch, say, San Diego State vs. Colorado State.
But make no mistake: This is the Pac-12 in name only, the hollowed out husk that remains after the college sports zombie apocalypse.
Here are four more things to know today:
- La Velle E. Neal III joined me on Thursday’s Daily Delivery podcast for a lively debate. Among the subjects we tackled: Should the Lynx want to face Caitlin Clark in the playoffs? You can watch a video of that segment here:
- Also on Thursday’s podcast, I talked about the good news from Wednesday for the Twins, which included Byron Buxton’s imminent return. But there are still concerns about rookie pitchers making nine of the team’s final 16 starts. Should they try someone else in the rotation?
- Wednesday’s Access Vikings podcast looked ahead to a much tougher test Sunday against San Francisco.
- Friday’s Daily Delivery podcast will feature some fantasy football advice and a look at a unique high school football offense.
The head coach and general manager didn’t just trend toward perfection these past 12 months. They achieved it.
