Pigskin Provenance

While it's true that the Pac-12 Conference can claim bloodlines between most member participants since the Pacific Coast Conference formed in 1916 (charter members Cal, UO, OSU, UW, WSU, Stanford, USC and UCLA), it's also accurate to note that before and during that time, many Pac-12 member schools were either independent or a member of the American Association of Western Universities (1959-64).

The Pac-8 Conference was officially recognized in 1964 with all the original members of the Pacific Coast Conference. Arizona and Arizona State University were eventually added, making the league the Pac-10 in the late 70s, followed by Colorado and Utah in 2011 to become the Pac-12. Unfortunately for its members, Pac-12 leadership was ill-prepared to lead its institutions in a high-stakes gamble with Big Television.

Bottom line? Four Pac-12 teams move to the Big 10 (UO, UW, USC, UCLA, four more teams bolt for the Big 12 (UA, ASU, Utah and Colorado), and two institutions -- OSU and WSU -- are left holding the bag. The transformation is not sitting well with many in the Northwest, although some have come to accept the inevitability of changing times in college football. It is truly sad that the West Coast's lone power conference is dissolving.