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Conference realignment is striking again.
No, this isn’t an article about another change coming. Even though I’m sure there will be one soon. Because why should things stay the way they are.
This is to start feeling fans out about what they think of the upcoming Pac-12. The conference affectionately known as the “Conference of Champions” was whittled down to two football teams and no basketball teams the last couple of years but will have new life this upcoming season.
Washington State and Oregon State have played in the WCC the last two seasons but are back in the Pac-12 and have some company. Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State are joining from the Mountain West. Texas State is making its way from the Sun Belt, and Gonzaga is hopping over from the WCC.
Looking at that lineup, the question is the following: When the mid-majors infiltrate the Pac-12, starting this summer, will the new conference be a mid-major?
Let’s get one elephant out of the way right away… Gonzaga still won’t be a mid-major.
With that being said, let’s talk about the rest.
The Mountain West has been one of the best and most prominent mid-major conferences the last few years, and now several of those top teams are in this new conference. Does the success of San Diego State going to the 2023 Final Four and Utah State winning the last few regular-season championships make this move seem like they are “graduating” to a power conference?
But remember, they are not going to the ACC, SEC, Big 12 or Big 10.
The two teams they are aligning with who have been in a power conference before are WSU and OSU. The Cougar men went a combined 15-21 in the WCC and the women 20-18. The Beaver men finished 19-17, while the women had the best of any of these marks at 25-13.
Those records are by no means dominant the way one might think power-conference teams might do in a mid-major conference.
Then, there’s Texas State.
The Bobcat men and women have each reached the NCAA Tournament just twice in their history and have never won a game. Hard to call them a power-conference team, even with this move.
Anyways, time will tell. And it’s time for you to let us know what you think.
