The Pac-12 was once considered one of the most elite fixtures of college basketball. But now, it has significantly shrunk due to conference realignment. The biggest blow came to it when ten of the twelve Pac-12 schools left for other conferences, leaving behind only Oregon State and Washington State.
Though the conference is actively trying to recruit more schools into its rebuilding, the future of it remains unsure. Miami Heat star Jaime Jaquez Jr. recently shed light on the slow death of the Pac-12 on Los Angeles Sparks forward Cameron Brink’s “Straight to Cam” podcast.
Jaquez Jr. is a former UCLA college player, having played in the Pac-12 conference till 2023. He was also the Pac-12 Player of the Year in 2023. Hence, it’s justified to say why he misses Pac-12 the way he does. Speaking to Brink, Jaquez Jr. highlighted the main reason he believes led to the downfall of the conference.
“I think there’s just too much money now in college sports, and they’re probably just gonna the big 10 and SEC are just gonna buy up all the, you know, relevant, high major teams. So that’s why I just, I don’t think so. I think PAC 12, they had an opportunity. They missed it. They wanted to create the PAC 12 network, ” Jaquez Jr. said (54:35).
What Jaime Jaquez Jr. is referencing here is the Pac-12 Network, an erstwhile digital cable and satellite television network owned by the conference itself. It had six regional sports channels like the Pac-12 Arizona, Pac-12 Bay Area, Pac-12 Los Angeles, Pac-12 Mountain, Pac-12 Oregon, and Pac-12 Washington that featured games of schools in this region.
Jaquez Jr. says that the conference should have signed with the prominent networks such as ESPN or Fox Sports since no one was actually subscribing to the conference’s network. Unfortunately, since the departure of 10 schools from the conference, the network shut down on June 30, 2024.
Pac-12 was stripped off its power conference status
On April 22, 2024, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors voted to strip the Pac-12 off it’s power conference status. This essentially meant the league lost it’s special decision-making authority within the NCAA’s governance.
Cut to present, the Pac-12 is not far removed from adding an eighth football-playing school to its roster. They are still trying to fully regain their legislative privileges that it once held before the departure of the 10 colleges. College football analyst Ross Dellenger recently clarified the Pac-12’s status in the college sports landscape.
The confusion mainly stemmed from a statement made by the College Sports Commission. Dellenger clarified that though the Pac-12 was still associated with the Power Four in all House settlement-related matters since the league was named a defendant when a suit was filed in 2020.
However, for the College Football Playoff and NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments, the Pac-12 isn’t considered a powerhouse conference.
However, as for the NCAA & CFP, the Pac-12 is not a “power conference.”
NCAA Board stripped the league of its autonomous legislative powers and the CFP Board reflected that designation with a tiered revenue-distribution model, though a new CFP governance model remains incomplete
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) July 31, 2025
Just last month, the league added Texas State as a full-time member starting from the 2026-27 season. This addition meant that the Pac-12 now met the NCAA’s minimum requirements of being in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
By next year, Pac-12 might consist of Boise State, Colorado State, Frenso State, Gonzaga, San Diego State, Utah State, Texas State, oregon State, and Washington State.
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