The Death of the Pac-10: Expansion, Conference Realignment Brings Colorado

Another day, another team declares their intentions to flee the sinking ship that is the Big 12 Conference.

The Pac-10 formally announced Thursday that the University of Colorado accepted their offer to join the quickly diluting "Conference of Champions."

Pac-10 Commissioner Larry Scott believes that Colorado is a “perfect match” and "a great fit for the Conference both academically and athletically."

It appears Scott's expansion wishes are reaching fruition faster than originally expected. 

The report of Nebraska’s intentions to leave to the Big 12 for the Big Ten is rapidly creating a cascading effect through the rest of the Conference and Colorado felt the need to react before they were left behind in the expansion aftermath.

The defection of Colorado is just another iceberg hitting the Big 12 and there are much more torrid waters looming ahead. Their decision to break the Pac-10 seal should create a steady stream of jumpers until the first college football Super Conference is formed. 

While Colorado is just an appetizer in Scott’s six-course meal, the main course is certainly Texas. Once this behemoth decides to drink the Kool-Aide, the death of the Big-12 and the Pac-10 will be inevitable.

With the addition of Colorado, the Pac-10 is already changing even if the other five teams decide to defy fate and maintain the Big-12 in some form. 

Like a teenager going through a growth spurt, the Pac-10 with Colorado is awkwardly erect and will need at least one other team to completely finish any phase of expansion—Super Conference or not.    

Two extra teams will automatically mean a Pac-10 Championship game, the end of round robin play, and the death of the Pac-10 as we all know it.

But we all know that this is not the end game of Scott. The idea of this Super Conference make the eyes of Scott and the University Heads light up with dollars signs like some sort of Looney Tunes character.

The hurriedly changing landscape of College Football has to give Scott the confidence that his best laid out plans are coming true. It is only a matter of time before the rest of his offer letters are accepted.

In addition, the report of a 2-year bowl ban on USC drives the dagger much deeper into the heart of the Pac-10.

USC has been the poster boy of the Pac-10 for decades and taking the venom out of the Trojans definitely puts an asterisk on the final season of this ten team conference. 

What happens if USC comes out blazing and takes the Pac-10, but because of the ban Oregon (or any other team) goes to the Rose Bowl? That would hardly be a true win in the minds of the team replacing the real Pac-10 champs.

On the other hand, what if USC loses some key recruits and suffers a year or two of mediocre play? Questions would undoubtedly be raised on whether or not a more powerful USC would have emerged if these sanctions were not imposed.

Last season could have been the last year that fans witness an uncontested Pacific-10 champion, which is really a shame for what was one of the best Conferences in College Football.

While the Pac-10 was easy for College Football snobs to knock, the yearly match-ups with every team in the Conference created a unique rivalry that had been abolished by other BCS conferences years ago. 

A bad loss one year could be avenged the next season and because of the lack of a Conference Championship game, every conference game truly mattered.

While the bulk of the Pac-10 match-ups will remain in tack, the loss of playing Arizona and Arizona St. every season is a subtraction of a rivalry that many schools have grown to love.

These two teams have been in the Pac-10 ever since I was born and the absence of them on the schedule seems bizarre. Both teams created havoc within the division at some point in time over the past 30 years and making treks to Scottsdale and Tempe was never an easy task.  

Expansion means this is a thing of the past and something that will be greatly missed.

But out with the old and in with the new. The “Pac-whatever number” will create brand new rivalries over the next few years and will push the landscape of College Football towards something very fresh and exciting. 

Change is upon us. It is futile to fight it.