Tramel's ScissorTales: Instability plagued Pac-12 long before Colorado's Big 12 move
The Pac-12's instability has been making news for more than a year, since USC and UCLA announced plans to join the Big Ten.
But the Pac has a history unlike any other major conference when it comes to instability. You think the Big 12 was wild in 2010 and 2011?
The Pac basically went out of business six decades ago and reconvened with 55 percent of its members and a new charter.
Here’s the story.
In 1915, the Pacific Coast Conference was founded with California, Washington, Oregon and what is now Oregon State. Soon enough, Washington State (1916), Stanford (1918), Southern Cal and Idaho (1922), Montana (1924) and UCLA (1928) came aboard.
Heck of a conference, especially for that time. It’s 1,210 miles from Los Angeles to Missoula, Montana. With 1924 transportation. And we’re worried about Provo to Orlando a century later? But I digress.
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The PCC split into divisions for baseball and basketball. And in the early years, the teams played just five conference football games. Even even when the league expanded its football schedule, Montana and Idaho routinely played just a few PCC games.
Montana left for the Mountain States Conference in 1950.
In the late 1950s, a pay-for-play scandal — pay for play? I’m shocked, shocked! — erupted. UCLA, USC, Cal and Washington agreed to form a new conference, and in 1959 the PCC disbanded.
That’s right. Disbanded. Laid down its sword.
The Athletic Association of Western Universities was formed, with the four renegades, Stanford and a completely new charter. The new league assumed the PCC’s previous role as a Rose Bowl host.
Oregon, Washington State, Oregon State and Idaho went independent.
Washington State stayed independent for three seasons. Oregon State and Oregon for five years. But all three joined the AAWU, which soon enough became known as the Pacific-8 Conference and adopted that name formally in 1968.
Idaho? The Vandals were not invited into the new league and eventually joined the Big Sky.
You know the rest. Arizona State and Arizona joined in the late 1970s, then Colorado and Utah in 2011. Now the current mess.
The new conference that formed in 1959 adopted the history of the old PCC. But it’s a league that literally went out of business and restarted, with a few 40-year members on the outside temporarily and one member out permanently. With an NCAA scandal mixed in.
Now turmoil has returned.
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Colorado basketball solid under Tad Boyle
On April 19, 2010, Colorado hired Tad Boyle as its men’s basketball coach. Fifty-two days later, Colorado announced it would leave the Big 12 for the Pac-12, effective summer 2011.
Thursday, Colorado regents voted to return to the Big 12. And Boyle remains the CU basketball coach.
In all the conference expansion drama, basketball often gets forgotten. And while yes, Colorado football has been a disaster, Boyle has turned Buff basketball into a solid program.
Between 1973 and Colorado’s departure from the Big 12, the Buffaloes had just four winning league records and made just two NCAA Tournaments. That’s in 38 seasons.
In Colorado’s departure, Big 12 basketball has become the nation’s best league. And the departures of OU and Texas don’t figure to change that.
But something interesting happened for Colorado out West. The Buffs became a solid basketball program.
In a dozen Pac-12 seasons, Boyle’s teams have made five NCAA Tournaments. Colorado is 14 games above .500 in Pac-12 play. Boyle’s career record is 272-172.
CU is not a hoops powerhouse. Its best Pac-12 season was in 2020-21, with a 14-6 record and a third-place finish. And the Pac-12 has not been close to the Big 12 in basketball prominence the last 12 years.
But the Pac is a solid basketball conference, and Boyle has done a nice job building the program.
Among the Boyle players who have made an impact in the NBA: Andre Roberson, Spencer Dinwiddie, Derrick White and Alec Burks.
Boyle, 60, grew up in Greeley, Colorado, and was recruited to Kansas by Ted Owens. Boyle was a senior captain on KU’s 1984-85 team, coached by Larry Brown.
Boyle knew the Big Eight. He knows the Big 12. And now he’s back in the Big 12, with a program that won’t dominate but also doesn’t figure to be dominated. And for Colorado basketball, that’s progress.
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Mailbag: Colorado’s move
Colorado’s return to the Big 12 has sparked all kinds of interest from readers, as you would expect.
Chris: “At first glance, Colorado doesn’t seem to bring much to the B12. However, if you start thinking like maybe (Brett) Yormark is thinking then…
“CU brings familiarity to a conference that has lost six (members). CU coming back would make it five.
“CU brings the Denver TV market, and CU is the only P(ower) 5 school in the state.”
“CU brings the Mountain Time Zone, along with BYU.
“CU builds a land bridge to BYU.
“All while Deion Sanders has surrounded the Buffaloes with hype and hope. Folsom Field can put butts in seats again. I have no idea how successful Sanders can be or how long he will stay.
“Potentially most important is that CU could be the domino that brings more schools to the B(ig) 12. Pac-12 is a mess. The whole San Diego State thing. The TV contract. Washington and Oregon better get proactive.”
Tramel: Interesting points. I’ll address them.
The Colorado return is sort of cool. Connecticut is the only school in modern times that returned to a major conference.
Television markets don’t mean what they used to, but the Denver market can’t hurt.
The Mountain Time Zone is important, because it gives the Big 12 more late-night windows, which ESPN and Fox will find attractive. Even more West schools would help CU and Brigham Young share the burden.
The land bridge with BYU is important to geography geeks like me – I always thought it would have been cool if Louisville had come aboard in 2012 and Missouri had stayed, then West Virginia wouldn’t have been on an island at all. You can look it up. But most people don’t care about stuff like that.
Deion Sanders is an absolute boon to the Big 12, no matter how long he stays. Heck, even if he’s gone after this season, just the microscope on Deion this season will shine a light on the Big 12.
And no doubt about it, Colorado’s biggest contribution to the Big 12 will be if it brings even more members.
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The List: Colorado’s best sports
Colorado does not have a strong athletic program in terms of championships. The Buffaloes have been in the Pac-12 for 12 years. They have won 14 league championships, with 13 of those coming in cross-country.
Colorado does not compete in Big 12 sports softball, baseball, women’s gymnastics, women’s rowing, swimming & diving, men’s tennis or wrestling.
Here are Colorado’s sports, ranked by success:
1. Skiing: The Buffaloes are a long-time NCAA power. Figures.
2. Men’s cross-country: Eight Pac-12 titles. CU will be a worthy contender to OSU’s dominance (12 of the last 15 Big 12 championships).
3. Women’s cross-country: Five Pac-12 titles. A worthy contender to Iowa State (eight of the 12 titles since Colorado departed) and OSU (three of the last four).
4. Women’s lacrosse: One Pac-12 title. The Big 12 does not compete in lacrosse.
5. Men's track: No Pac-12 championships, but still a presence with its long-distance tradition.
6. Women's track: No Pac-12 championships, but still quite competitive with its long-distance tradition.
7. Women's soccer: Buffs have been a fairly consistent NCAA Tournament team under 13-year coach Danny Sanchez.
8. Men’s basketball: Under Boyle, the Buffs have been solid in the Pac-12.
9. Men’s golf: The Buffaloes have been fairly competitive, often making the NCAA regionals.
10. Women’s basketball: Buffaloes made the Sweet 16 last season, their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance, after having been in March Madness just once in the previous 17 years.
11. Women’s golf: Coach Anne Kelly has been on the job since 1997, but the Buffs have few NCAA regional appearances.
12. Women's tennis: Ranked 61st nationally last season.
13. Women's volleyball: Mostly mediocre in the Pac-12, with only two winning records since 2015.
14. Football: CU has been the perennial doormat of Pac-12 football.
Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Instability plagued Pac-12 long before Colorado's Big 12 move
