Pac-12 Expansion: SEC Will Dominate Pac-16 Until the West Gets Conference Pride

The Pac-12 Expansion talks may be hot, but if the SEC's dominance over the Pac-12 is going to end, it won't be because commissioner Larry Scott adds the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners to the "Pac-16."

Since Scott took over as commissioner of the Pacific 12 conference in 2009, the West's most premiere collegiate sports league has been talking expansion. Last year they added the Colorado Buffaloes and Utah Utes to the mix, but they wanted to add more. Scott had his sights set on the big boys, the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners. With the Texas A&M Aggies potentially heading to the SEC, his dream could soon be a reality.

Ultimately, the Pac-12 wants to be greater than the mighty SEC—winners of five consecutive BCS Championships. It doesn't really matter how many teams or how prolific of teams the Pac-12 adds to it's fold, though. The Pac-12 cannot compete with the SEC. Sure, they can get better schools and begin to rival them on the field, but the SEC has a camaraderie among it's schools and fans that isn't matched by it's west coast combatant.

If the Pac-12 wants to compete with the SEC, it doesn't need more schools.The Pac-12 needs the schools to support the other schools. It needs conference pride.

Did you hear the LSU Tiger fans chanting "S-E-C, S-E-C!" near the end of their victory over the Oregon Ducks in the Cowboys Classic?

When was the last time you heard a Pac-10 or Pac-12 chant? It simply doesn't happen because fans on the west coast are individualistic and selfish for their own school.

To the California Golden Bears and the Stanford Cardinal I say this: your rivalry is important, but you must cheer for and support the other school when they are playing non-conference foes.

The same goes for the Oregon Ducks fans and the Oregon State Beavers fans. Beaver Nation should have wanted to see Oregon beat LSU because of what that would have done for the conference. They should have loved for them to win the National Championship against the Auburn Tigers in 2010. Ducks' fans, you shouldn't revel in the Beavers loosing to the Sacramento State Hornets to begin the 2011 season. That makes the conference look weak.

Do you want to see the Pac-12 or Pac-16 begin to rival and maybe overtake the SEC for most dominate conference in the country? It doesn't begin with the Pac-12 expansion—adding the Texas Longhorns, Oklahoma Sooners, Oklahoma State Cowboys and Texas Tech Red Raiders.

The Pac-12 will become more dominate when it's fans and players become stronger in their support of their conference—when the nation cannot watch a Pac-12 game because the fans are so full of themselves. Hold up Pac-12 signs at ESPN's College GameDay. Chant "Pac-12, Pac-12!" during football games.

If the west is to be the best, it must start with heart.