Back to the USC Trojans Newsfeed

Commentary: Surprise! Pac-12 can be a winner in this round of conference realignment

A five-day stretch in the summer of 2010 sent the Pac-12 on a crash so calamitous the conference is still trying to hit the eject button more than decade later.

On June 10, the NCAA released its sanctions against USC football, leveling the league’s premier brand for years to come. On June 14, the University of Texas told then-hotshot-Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott that it was staying in the Big 12, ending the dream of a 16-team “superconference” based west of the Mississippi, where Oklahoma Sooners and Washington Huskies slept under the same roof.

The losses, both real and perceived, have piled up since.