Give Colorado credit for one thing: While its football prowess has diminished dramatically in the 2000s, it remains one of college sports' key realignment weather vanes. Wherever the winds are blowing, that's where you'll find the Buffaloes.
Thirteen years ago, Colorado got an invitation to leave behind the dramatic uncertainty of the Big 12 for what felt like an exciting, up-and-coming Pac-12, a conference with huge plans and a big-dreaming commissioner in Larry Scott.
Last week, the school did the same thing in reverse, running from a Pac-12 that had lost two members and hadn't yet been able to secure an elusive, new media rights deal.