I’m a Husky, as in a University of Washington alum. The U Dub as it’s known, is on Lake Washington in Seattle. It boasts a great medical school and breathtaking views of mountains and water.
My parents went to the U-Dub as did my brother. I’m not sure if my grandparents on my mom’s side went there, but they could have. I know my grandparents on Dad’s side did not, as they were immigrants from Finland.
My daughter went to Utah, which was a fairly new school to the PAC 12. Because of the influx of cash by joining the PAC 12 (due to TV deals for football), my daughter was treated to a bevy of goodies as a scholar athlete. She called me the first day of school and said they gave her an iPad. They also gave her a laptop. They had an athletic dining hall that served all-you-can-eat crab legs, oysters and prime rib after wins by the football team. She had access to free trainers, massages and tutors. Oh yes, her workout gear was magically laundered and replaced in her locker. It was quite a deal for sure. That’s on top of tuition and books.
I soon became a fan of Utah, giving up my Husky loyalty. I loved going to the swimming PAC 12 Championships in Federal Way, Wash. Because of teams like Stanford, CAL and USC, there were many Olympic swimmers including Katie Ledecky, Missy Franklin and Simone Manuel. It was like attending our own private Olympics. You can read about my first PAC 12 meet HERE.
I was proud my daughter was a swimmer in the PAC 12. I loved the 100-plus year history of the conference and the many rival football games, like U Dub versus “Wazoo,” UCLA v. USC, O vs. OSU.
Now that’s all gone. First USC and UCLA left. Next it was Colorado. The last few days Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah announced alignments with new conferences.
I find it really depressing and upset that money is at the root of this change. I’m all confused about the Big 10 and Big 12. I don’t get it at all. I guess my PAC 12 gear will be collector’s items.
What are your thoughts about the death of the PAC 12?
What sports are you a fan of? Do you like pro or college sports?
This concept hasn’t really caught on in our country. Scholarship are only offered on academic results and most schools/ universities don’t have teams of their own.
Interesting. In the US, I believe most scholarships are for athletics rather than academics. It’s a big business.
Yes in Asia we are focused more on academics than sports
We should be in my opinion. But it’s turned into a big money operation with sports.
Yes. Nowadays everything is about money.
Unfortunately!
I agree.
My school is SEC. We are one of the growing conferences. My kids’ school was ACC but is now Big 10. Most of college sports is all about money now
You’re correct, it’s all about money. The PAC 12 didn’t get a TV deal except for Apple TV. So here we are.
All over the news here as you might expect EA- very divisive decision and of course WSU is now out in the cold. They’ve been tossing out lots of $ figures about what these *new* Big 10 teams will get over the next few years and it’s a huge amount even though there will now be 18 teams splitting money in that conference. It was all about TV deals and how much debt the universities have and how to pay it all off.
Everyone here believes the 4 remaining colleges (now the Pac 4 which is just weird to say) will go to the Mountain West and thus will end the Pacific conference all together.
I’m not even a sporty person, nor do I have any connection to those schools but this story is going to be huge here for some time. I wonder what all the original universities back east that started the Big 10 are thinking about this new deal. Their funds are now being spread farther and their traditions are going to be changing as well.
It bothers me that TV money is ending a 108-year tradition. Also the amount of travel the student athletes will have won’t help them sports-wise or academically! My husband’s grandmother was in the first class at UCLA that graduated women. So our PAC 12 roots run deep. You’re correct it will be a big story for some time.
Sadly we are looking at reality EA. A perfect example of wanting more, then getting more, then being driven to continue to need more. I think there are so many misconceptions about what these huge universities are really promoting for their students versus themselves as a brand these days. I was thrilled that none of my kids chose a big, public, infamous university. Your daughter did the right thing by combining her prowess in swim with the academic advantages afforded a good athlete. Lots of kids/families can get sucked into the whole money making concept associated with this path the large universities are on and I wonder what that is really teaching them about life, especially when things don’t work out as they were promised?
I have similar thoughts about big name brand schools. Especially if families or kids go in debt for tons of money. Our daughter got recruited by lots of “better brand” schools, but fell in love with Utah. I got so tired of people saying to me “Utah? Why Utah?” after she committed. I have always felt that you can get an education at any school, it’s up to the individual to pursue it.
Questions like that- the “why Utah” ones only needed a “why NOT Utah” response and then simply walk away!
I honestly don’t know why people don’t think before they speak. That would have been a great reply!
We were talking about the end of the PAC 12 this weekend. It doesn’t impact us directly but also emphasizes how wacky these college groupings are. Forget logic or geography, hello whimsy.
I can’t imagine how student athletes are going to travel so far for games and meets. It’s going to be a nightmare. It seems to me money is destroying college sports.
We were out on Lake Washington yesterday on my brother’s boat to watch the Blue Angels and as we chugged past Husky stadium and through the cut, I was thinking about this exact topic. So strange. I wonder if it’ll come back at some point – a little different but some version of the old? What an incredible scholarship and group of swimmers with your daughter! Wow!
That sounds so beautiful! I loved being on Lake Washington. It is so sad that a 108-year history is gone. I wonder what will happen in the future? My daughter had a great deal at Utah and enjoyed her four years there.
I’m with Ally. Not directly impacted, but the news just seems wacky and driven by dollars. I love traditions associated with sports, teams, history — especially at the college level – and this feels bizarre and sad.
All the in state rivalry’s are over except for USC and UCLA are in the same conference as BYU and Utah. It’s depressing that a 108-year history is destroyed by TV. I think there will be more changes ahead, too.
😥
I went to Virginia Tech, and the ACC is having issues as well. Not contraction, yet, because of a binding agreement in place until 2036 that makes it nearly impossible to leave (although Clemson and Florida State have been courted). These new monster conferences are going to relegate everyone else to scraps and trash rivalries decades old. . Maye the ACC can absorb the remaining Pac 12 schools, giving us a West Coast presence. Not sure, but something has to give.
I have no clue where my comment back to you went. Oh well. I have so much to learn about ACC, Big 10, Big 12, etc. It’s foreign territory to me. I hope the remaining PAC 12 schools end up somewhere. My daughter works at CAL and I worry about her school getting rid of sports altogether and money!
Follow the money. College athletics is all about the money. College athletics was always big time business, even back in the day, but it’s definitely out in the open now. I find that it makes it hard to enjoy the games now, but fans keep coming out. I graduated from Penn State University and they joined the Big 10 in 1990. They joined for many of the same reasons, the larger TV deal. And yes, many traditions have gone by the wayside. The school has lost many of its natural rivalries. It still feels like a step-child to the traditional Big 10 schools. You bring up great points. The larger sports will all be fine, but like you mentioned, what about swimmers or track athletes that now have to travel cross country? I think some sports will end up being cut, too expensive to keep going. To be fair, I know Penn State, which has a large research focus, saw some gains there too, but it’s still a strange arrangement. I feel for Washington, Oregon, and really all of the Pac 12.
One of our future DIL’s sisters went to Penn State. She was on crew. That may be a sport that gets cut from PAC 12 schools that are now competing across four time zones. How do you travel across country with all that expensive equipment? Oregon has plenty of money because of Phil Knight, Nike’s founder. OSU is left out in the cold. I’ve even heard the CAL Berkeley could face financial trouble if they don’t get a deal.
It’s really sad. None of these moves have been made with the student in mind. It’s all about bigger and better things for school’s 💰💰💰
Yes. At first there was criticism of NIL money. But it’s hard to argue about students making money when that is what the institutions are chasing.
I’m glad to hear that your daughter was able to take advantage of some of the extras at Utah. I worry that all the money flows to football, basketball, harming the smaller sports.
In the PAC 12 there were only Men’s swim teams at Stanford, CA, Utah, USC, UA and ASU. The UW and UO cut swimming altogether.
I worked for a short time for a small local college in the PR office. My old boss predicted that we’re one day going to start to see more colleges run into financial problems. Now he was off on his timing, but ultimately I think some are going to be in trouble. Sad.
Who would have thought it would be possible? But I’m afraid your old boss was right. A lot of the PAC 12 schools have upgraded their stadiums and will be losing money including CAL and OSU — which are now in the PAC 4.
I like sports less and less as time passes…
This falling apart of the PAC 12 has me feeling the same way.
I’m with you, Liz. It is sad that greed is the basis for this dismantling of our sacred Pac-12 Conference of Champions. Pac-4 and counting… You know, I went to Cal Poly -Go Mustangs!- but I never dreamed there would come a day that considering WSU, OSU, CAL, & Stanford as a plausible addition to some form of the Mountain West conference could materialize. It’s a mad, mad world… and I don’t like it!
I am glad we have one more year of PAC 12 football to watch. It’s such a shame to see the Conference of Champions disappear!
Agreed, we will enjoy it for the final chapter! I hate to see all the dismantling and shuffling, primarily driven by money. For example, Cal Poly sport teams currently participate in four different conferences that always seem to be changing. I prefer stability and tradition in college sports, especially when it comes to the rivalries. Up to this point, it’s one of the reasons I prefer NCAA over professional sports. Psyment of student athletes, advertising contracts, and university television deals seem to have disrupted it all into a chaotic chase for the almighty dollar. That said, I guess we have one final bonified Apple Cup to cherish this coming November, bittersweet as it may be. 🍎🏆🍏
That’s exactly why I liked NCAA sports better than professional ones. But now this is mini pros. One last Apple Cup and Go Utes!
It’s sad that the Pac-12 is coming to an end. It’s difficult to fathom. The Big 10 will be an adventure (I’m from one of the other schools that started this landslide), but feel the loss of the Pac-12 to be such a shame.
Generations in our family who went to the PAC 12 including myself and my daughter. I think that’s why it hits so hard.
My family is the same, so I totally understand. Conference of Champions!
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