Angry AD Claims Pac-12 Was on the Brink of Salvation, Mere Hours Away

“We were literally hours away from a deal that everybody could embrace,” Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes told The Oregonian. “I’m furious,” he added.

Although the breakup began in 2022 when UCLA and USC announced they were leaving for the Big Ten, there was still hope as late as Friday morning that the Pac-12 could be salvaged. By day’s end, that scant hope was gone. In the afternoon, the Big Ten officially announced that Oregon and Washington were joining their conference effective August 2, 2024. That evening, the Big 12 board approved the addition of Arizona, Arizona State and Utah.

That leaves just Cal, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State in what was once the Pac-12.

“I’ve never seen so many last-minute decisions and twists and turns as I’ve seen through this process,” Barnes told The Oregonian.

Bluster from Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff a few weeks ago has also drawn renewed scrutiny after the collapse of the conference. On July 21, Kliavkoff said at Pac-12 media day that it was “not a concern” that schools would move to the Big 12.

It’s not clear what’s next for the Pac-4, but there are few palatable options: They could stay closer to the West Coast and join a smaller conference like the Mountain West, or they could be absorbed into a farther-flung conference in the Midwest or East Coast. “We are not watching and waiting from the sidelines. Together, the Chancellor and Athletic Director are evaluating a variety of options that will ensure our student-athletes can continue to thrive, and that our intercollegiate athletics program can continue to excel,” a joint statement from UC Berkeley chancellor Carol Christ and Cal athletic director Jim Knowlton said.

“Conference realignment just doesn’t make sense anymore. What this enterprise was built on was regionality and rivalries,” Barnes said. “That is gone.”