There is a lot of talk about conference expansion again all of the sudden. The Big 10 is discussing expansion to get in on the conference championship money. Ask Conference USA and the MAC what a conference championship game has done for them? The PAC-10 is looking into it as well. Are BYU and Utah a good fix in the PAC-12? I present the same 10 questions for the PAC-10 that I gave to the MWC a couple of weeks ago.
1. The new schools must improve the standing of the PAC-10 in the BCS.
2. The new schools must improve the standing of the PAC-10 in the NCAA basketball tourney.
3. The new schools must add to the reputation of the PAC-10 in baseball
4. The new schools must add to the quality of the conference in non-revenue sports.
5. The new schools must have modern facilities and working to make improvements.
6. The new schools must add to the recruiting base of the conference.
7. The new schools must strengthen the television marketability of the conference.
8. The new schools must not add significantly to the travel requirements of the conference.
9. The new schools must add something positive to the academic reputation of the conference.
10. The new schools must be compliant with NCAA regulations, including being free of non-qualifying athletes.
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1. Can any school improve the standing of the PAC-10 in the BCS? Chances are, no. It is not the PAC-10 that is threatened by the success of the MWC, even if the other western conference has owned it in recent years. The PAC-10 has a decades-old association with the Rose Bowl. The BCS needs the Rose Bowl and not visa-versa. If the BCS drops the PAC-10, then the Rose Bowl drops the BCS. The PAC-10 has a secure place in the BCS.
There is no reason for the PAC-10 to raid and weaken to MWC just to keep the Big East involved in the BCS. Nothing changes from the perspective of the PAC-10 if the MWC replaces the Big East in the BCS. The PAC-10 gains nothing from it, and looses nothing by it.
From a football perspective, the only thing that the PAC-10 gains from expansion is a championship game and the money and exposure a championship game will provide. The SEC, ACC and Big-12 had successful championship games that drew well with TV audiences and that also brings in advertising money. A Pac-12 this year, in theory, would have brought Oregon and Arizona together. Not as intriguing as Alabama/Florida, but better than Texas/Nebraska. Last year could have seen Utah and USC meet. That would have been fun.
2. In basketball, the PAC-10 is not the only conference in the west. But unless expansion can provide an extra invitee or two, there is not a lot that two more teams can add. The PAC-10 had 6 invitees last year, and it is rare that they have had less than 3. There is suspicion that adding BYU and Utah and holding the championship at ESA may provide more interest in the championship tourney, but only if BYU and Utah are both having good seasons. This season the PAC-10 could use the success that BYU has enjoyed in non-conference play as some traditional powers like UCLA and Arizona are struggling.
3. USC, Arizona State and Oregon State have been regulars in Omaha for a long time. BYU is nothing more than a consistent winner in baseball and Utah rarely makes it to the NCAA tournament. The only program west of the Great Divide that can improve the PAC-10 in Baseball is in Fresno.
4. BYU and Utah have solid non-revenue programs. BYU is a consistent winner in Womens Soccer, Cross Country, and several others. Utah add Womens Gymnastics to the mix.
5. Both BYU and Utah have modern facilities that are a good mix to the PAC-10.
6. Do Haloti Ngata, Stanley Havili and Dallas Lloyd ring a bell to Utah High School fans? They should. They all played high school ball in Utah and went to PAC-10 schools. The PAC-10 does not need to add BYU and Utah to the conference to expand their recruiting base. Actually the recruiting bases have been mixed for decades. How many of BYU's legendary quarterbacks come from California, Arizona or Washington? (Gary Sheide (Antioch, CA); Jim McMahon (San Jose, CA before Roy, UT); Marc Wilson (Seattle); Robbie Bosco (Roseville, CA); John Walsh (Torrance, CA); Steve Sarkisian (Torrance, CA); John Beck (Mesa, AZ) and Max Hall (Mesa, AZ) that is 8! All but Nielsen, Young and Detmer.) Adding BYU and Utah will neither add to nor subtract from the recruiting base.
7. What does a metro of about 3 million add to the PAC-10? Only an exciting and intense rivalry. Four of the PAC-10's current schools play in a smaller metro than BYU and Utah.
8. Both BYU and Utah are closer to Seattle than Tuscon and visa versa. No problem here.
9. BYU is known for Business Management and in the Pac-12, BYU would be in the three, right behind Stanford and Cal. Utah would be #5 in Medicine. They would not be a detriment in the academic arena.
10. No problem here.
Any negatives? BYU will not play on Sunday.
Bottom line. If the PAC-10 becomes the PAC-12, BYU and Utah would probably be as good of a choice as any. But the PAC-10 probably does not need to expand, unless they really, really need the money that a championship game could provide. As I write this, Jimmer Ferdette puts up 49 for BYU on Arizona at the McHale Center. BYU and Utah could compete in this conference, and perhaps do a little better. They would likely do no worse than Arizona and Arizona State have. It would be difficult to find another pair that would be better.
If I were to choose between seeing BYU and Utah in the PAC-12 versus the MWC-12 given that the MWC-12 would be an automatic qualifier in the BCS, I would choose the later. BYU/Utah does not have a long history with anyone currently in the PAC-10. Yes, Arizona and Arizona State were in the WAC from 1962 to 1977. Before then, UAZ and ASU were in the Border Conference and BYU and Utah were in the Skyline conference. BYU/Utah have a long history with Colorado State, Wyoming and New Mexico. It would be great to see those rivalries continue. Overall, I have a neutral opinion on the prospect. Two years ago, I was excited about the possibility, but the progress of the MWC has changed my mind. The PAC-10 can get along fine without BYU and Utah. The Cougars and the Utes only need a better conference, and a better MWC is good enough for me.
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