Pac-12 (Pac-4) merger with the Mountain West seems like the only option
The Pac-12 has been whittled to the Pac-4 after Friday’s mass exodus. Five Pac-12 schools got out of Dodge. Oregon and Washington went to the Big Ten, while Arizona, Arizona State and Utah moved to the Big 12. This leaves only Stanford, Cal, Oregon State and Washington State in a very small “four-Pac.” The questions are simple but important.
Is it worth going independent?
Is it necessary to latch onto a conference?
How can all the sports programs at a school be best served?
Could we see a school remain independent in football but join a conference for the other sports?
How is all of this going to play out for the Pac-4? We asked around and wondered if a Pac-12 (now Pac-4) merger with the Mountain West is an idea worth pursuing:
MATT ZEMEK, TROJANS WIRE
Not as a first plan for sure. That’s settling for second best (or maybe last place, to be even more brutally harsh). However, if the Arizona schools leave and the death of the Pac-12 is the only alternative, the Pac-12 might have to merge with the Mountain West. Would Stanford and Cal accept that, however? Very likely not. The Pac-12 has really boxed itself into a corner, and it has to be infuriating if you’re a Pac-12 fan who didn’t want to see the conference die. This stuff was preventable. If you’re a Wazzu or Oregon State fan, you have to be going crazy with rage. None of this had to happen.
ZACHARY NEEL, DUCKS WIRE
The recent version of the Pac-12 did not merge with the Mountain West, and it shouldn’t have done so. Let Oregon, Washington, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State jump ship first. Then, I wholeheartedly believe that the only option left for the Pac-4 (or the Pac-2, if Cal and Stanford jump to the Big Ten as well) is to try to save face by merging with the Mountain West. Congrats Oregon State and Washington State, you just became the biggest fish in a small pond that nobody ever visits.
MATT WADLEIGH, TROJANS AND BUFFALOES WIRE
This has always felt like the best-case scenario for me. The Pac-12 and Mountian West make sense logistically speaking, and Fresno State, Boise State, San Diego State, Nevada and Utah State aren’t bad programs to add to the conference. If a flurry of Pac-12 schools leave, a MWC-Pac-12 merger is the way to go.
STANFORD AND THE BIG TEN
One would think Stanford will explore a move to the Big Ten before it considers independence or a Mountain West arrangement. This doesn’t mean a Mountain West with Stanford could never happen, only that it will not be the Cardinal’s first choice.
CAL AND THE BIG TEN
Can Cal cling to Stanford’s coattails and ride to the Big Ten, or are the Golden Bears uniquely stuck in a way that doesn’t apply to Stanford? That’s a key question when wondering if the Pac-4 will splinter or become a group that merges with the Mountain West.
WASHINGTON STATE, OREGON STATE AND THE BIG 12
Does the Big 12 want Washington State and Oregon State? That would be the first preference for the Cougars and Beavers, but they’re not calling the shots. Brett Yormark is. If the Big 12 shuts the door to WSU and OSU, the merger with the Mountain West might have to be accepted, as undesirable as it might be.
Oregon State and Washington State are not in a good position to become independent the way Stanford conceivably could.
