Pac-12 Football an End of Era

This past weekend was football rivalry week and individuals were glued to their TVs watching the various teams to figure out how the Bowl game selection would shape out. I was part of the spectacle watching the games, cheering, and texting with friends.

Saturday night, I watched the Pac-12 announcers reminiscing and, in some cases, getting a bit emotional as they acknowledged their colleagues and their tenure on the network because the Conference, as we know it, will sunset. I was on a text message thread with girlfriends who were sharing posts from others and chiming in with their own comments.

At various times, I found myself, like others, being angry – angry at the former commissioner, the Presidents within the conference who allowed the commissioner to manage the way he did, at USC and UCLA for leaving, or angry that it couldn’t be fixed.

Then I found myself sad and reflective. Sad at the loss of an amazing conference filled with many individual and team championships. Sad that the west coast was losing a significant role in college athletics. Sad that my alma mater wouldn’t be traveling to football games with teams our fans knew well. I reflected on my time in college athletics (21 years) and the many memories spent in the Pac-12(10) conference with colleagues who were trailblazers and friends who played in the sport they loved.

I’ve been wondering how student-athletes will be students if they must travel farther away and miss so much class time and how athletics departments will be able to afford it. I’ve thought about the transfer portal and NIL and the NCAA’s role in all of it. I thought to myself, college sports appear to now be like minor league baseball but, as I write this, I’m saying it out loud.

I often hear people say, “It’s not the way it used to be,” heck I’ve said that myself.! When you think about it, isn’t that true for everything? Each day forward means that yesterday is the past and change is eminent – that’s what life is about. When the unknown is in front of you, you question everything, you blame others, your fear rises and even excitement trickles into your thoughts as you wonder what something may be like.

While I am sad, and sometimes dream of someone coming in and making the Pac-12 whole again, I am still hopeful that this new conference alignment will be a good thing for the institutions, the student-athletes, staff, coaches, fans, and alumni. The Dr. Pepper commercial got it right, sharing a bit of how people are feeling through satire. If you haven’t seen it click HERE.

Here’s to something new and the sunset of Pac-12 Football and the rest of the sports played in the Fall.