By now, it should be no secret that the Pac-12 is in a bad spot.
Men's basketball is an utter disaster, with the conference almost surely doomed to not send a single team to the NCAA Tournament. Football was marginally better, but the season ended without a Pac-12 team in the College Football Playoff for the third time in five years.
What's more, most of the conference's most visible and popular programs have struggled in recent years. USC has failed to make much of an impact in the football world since Pete Carroll's departure, while Oregon flamed out in spectacular fashion after falling to Ohio State in the first CFP title game.