In the past year, bombshells have hit the college sports world. Back in August of 2022, USC and UCLA, college football powerhouses and members of the Pac-12 since the 1920s, announced that they were leaving their conference to join the Big Ten in 2024. It was a move that shook the NCAA, which forced other conferences to move into survival mode to keep their athletics alive. Then, in August of 2023, chaos ensued: The University of Washington and The University of Oregon both announced they, too, would be joining the Big Ten from the Pac-12. Other Pac-12 universities who watched as their conference began to collapse, such as Colorado and Utah, promptly left the conference as well. The current state of college football now has the Big Ten with 18 members and the Pac-12 with two. 

What could have prompted so much realignment in such a short time frame? In short, the answer is money –a ton of it. USC and UCLA are two of the most recognizable universities in the world. Their academic prestige, large market and brand, and athletic success gave the Big Ten tons of incentive  to admit them into the conference, regardless of their locations. It was a beneficial move for UCLA and USC too, as their move solidified a seven-year, eight-billion-dollar TV deal that the Big Ten was in the process of completing before the universities had even joined. In the end, the joining of the universities and conference is a mutually beneficial relationship, as the two schools are able to bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in with the TV deal whilst the Big Ten makes large profits off the branding of the respective schools. “We wanted to operate in a position of strength, and that was the Big Ten,” UCLA AD Martin Jarmond said in an interview with ESPN.

It is now apparent that the opportunity for more great conference versus conference rivalry is a thing of the past. The Rose Bowl, which used to be played between the best of the Big Ten and the best of the Pac-12, is unlikely to happen again in that same format with there being no Pac-12. Oregon State and Washington State, universities who are not greatly funded but have passionate fan bases have been left confused about where to go next. Most importantly, it’s the mark of a new dawn in college football — a dawn that college football fans aren’t ready to accept. The Pac-12 has been the face of college football on the Pacific coast since the 1920s. “The conference of champions,” as UCLA basketball legend Bill Walton called it, is no more. “At the end of the day, money will always win,” said college football superfan Harry Bayston.