Mike Leach’s departure ended an era for Washington State and closed a book for the Pac-12.
Leach was the last man standing of the four head coaches hired by Pac-12 schools in the late fall of 2011.
During a three-week stretch, Rich Rodriguez (Arizona), Todd Graham (Arizona State), Jim Mora (UCLA) and Leach joined the conference.
Their collective arrival symbolized the onset of a new competitive and resource-stocked chapter for the Pac-12, which months earlier had announced a groundbreaking $3 billion media deal with Fox and ESPN and the creation of the Pac-12 Networks.
Colorado and Utah were in the conference.