Pac-12 Announces New Divisions

[Mississippi Sooner]

The new Pac-12 conference approved football divisions that will split the California schools and adopted an equal revenue-sharing plan Thursday as the conference presidents and chancellors hashed out the important issues that arose because of recent expansion.

Colorado and Utah recently accepted invitations to join the Pac-10 in the conference's first expansion since 1978, necessitating many changes for when the league becomes a 12-team conference next July 1.

The most anticipated decision was the division alignment. The league decided to split the California schools, with Stanford and Cal playing in the North Division with Oregon, Oregon State, Washington and Washington State. UCLA and Southern California will be in the South with Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado.

But the conference did vote to keep the historic California rivalries. The Bay Area schools have played the Los Angeles schools every year since 1946 in rivalries that started long before that. Cal and Stanford will each play UCLA and USC every year in football.

The other cross-divisional games in the nine-game conference schedule will rotate, with the Oregon and Washington schools most likely playing in Los Angeles every other year as opposed to the current annual trips.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/football/ncaa/10/21/pac-12-divisions.ap/index.html?eref=sihp

[boomersooner82]

I think the most interesting thing is that the division winner with the best record gets to host the Conference Championship game. That sounds pretty cool.

[jumperstop]

The talents seems a bit heavy in the Northern Division. Also I don't like this trend to have divisions, but to play a "rivalry" cross division game each year. Doesn't seem like it would be fair depending on the teams. The Big 10 is doing this too, just seems a bit uneven for certain teams.

[badger]

I think the most interesting thing is that the division winner with the best record gets to host the Conference Championship game. That sounds pretty cool.

Oh wow... I suppose they go with the BCS then if the two teams have identical records?

tee hee... how soon do they switch that :D

[bent rider]

The talents seems a bit heavy in the Northern Division. Also I don't like this trend to have divisions, but to play a "rivalry" cross division game each year. Doesn't seem like it would be fair depending on the teams. The Big 10 is doing this too, just seems a bit uneven for certain teams.

Not sure if I agree. Once Colo and Utah are in the Pac-12 they should get some help on recruiting, particularly Utah who is not currently AQ, yet is ranked #9.

The north has WSU and Washington, who has a solid history, but is nothing short of sucktastic in the last couple yrs (losses this year to Nebbish and 2-4 byu)

[bent rider]

I think the most interesting thing is that the division winner with the best record gets to host the Conference Championship game. That sounds pretty cool.

Could literally be VERY cool if they play in Boulder or Salt Lake City in November ... or VERY wet in Oregon or the Bay Area in November.

[badger]

btw... does this mean that one of the championship game teams only gets allotted tix based on being the away team?

School: I know you have been a loyal donor over the past decade
Donor: TWO decades!
Schools: Yes, and you have been a season ticket holder in the same seats during that time
Donor: The same seats our family held for the past two generations!
School: Yes... but due to the nature of the championship game agreement, your tickets are going to be sold to the visiting school.

:P the reason we keep OU-Texas in Dallas

[Collier11]

I wouldnt think they would host it at a teams home field and not do the tix like normal, to host on a home field and split tix is dumb IMO

[NormanPride]

Why do UO and UW go all the way to LA to play?

[jumperstop]

Why do UO and UW go all the way to LA to play?

I was kinda thinking the same thing. Recruiting? Thier fans are already probably bitching about this.

[HBick]

The talents seems a bit heavy in the Northern Division. Also I don't like this trend to have divisions, but to play a "rivalry" cross division game each year. Doesn't seem like it would be fair depending on the teams. The Big 10 is doing this too, just seems a bit uneven for certain teams.

it's like tenn and bama, they play each year and have since the sec expanded to 12 teams

[jumperstop]

it's like tenn and bama, they play each year and have since the sec expanded to 12 teams

For some reason I thought they were in the same division. It just seems like a team might have a grip if they have to play a team that other teams in thier division don't. Of course, I wouldn't complain about playing Tennessee, they would be the easiest team on our schedule this year. :D :D

[bent rider]

I think the north teams would rather go "all the way to LA" to play, as they can do recruiting there, have nice trips for the alums (not to mention the alums living in SoCal), etc. As it is, there are 9 conference games so they get to go there every other year if they split the visits to USC/UCLA and Ariz/ASU -- not sure how the sched will work out. Plus, I believe basketball will have complete home/home sched.

[GKeeper316]

sooooo... oregon vs usc every year

[oudavid1]

:P the reason we keep OU-Texas in Dallas

but most of all safety and tradition

[Tigeman]

sooooo... oregon vs usc every year

I thought that too at first. But it's not gonna be SC for a while. It'll be Oregon and Utah/Arizona for a while.

Guess we'll be getting stuck watching the damn ducks in the BCS every year! Blah!

[mightysooner]

So basically Colorado went from being the Baylor of the Big XII North, to the Baylor of the PAC 12 South. A lateral promotion.

[oudavid1]

I thought that too at first. But it's not gonna be SC for a while. It'll be Oregon and Utah/Arizona for a while.

Guess we'll be getting stuck watching the damn ducks in the BCS every year! Blah!

ehhhh, they are really gonna have to keep this recruiting up, i really dont see them being terribly BCS relevant to much longer. but who knows.

[Football Jim]

Colorado isn't going to have to worry about hosting a championship game for a long long time!:D

[Tigeman]

ehhhh, they are really gonna have to keep this recruiting up, i really dont see them being terribly BCS relevant to much longer. but who knows.

I'm talking about the Pac-10+2's automatic bid. Not the mNCG.

[oudavid1]

I'm talking about the Pac-10+2's automatic bid. Not the mNCG.

nvm, my b

[Scott D]

What is more interesting is that in regards to "tradition" the North division is the "Original" Pac-6, the South division are all of the "Expansion" schools.

[DenverSooner751]

Colorado isn't going to have to worry about hosting a championship game for a long long time!:D

Very true, but can you imagine that game? A night game in Boulder in December (assuming a night game)????

That would be a miserable place for those SoCal/AZ schools to play.

[DenverSooner751]

Very true, but can you imagine that game? A night game in Boulder in December (assuming a night game)????

That would be a miserable place for those SoCal/AZ schools to play.

I just realized how stupid this statement is....they're in the same ****ing division, they wouldn't play each other in this game, LOL.

[OU_Sooners75]

I think the most interesting thing is that the division winner with the best record gets to host the Conference Championship game. That sounds pretty cool.


Well I can see why they do that....It is interesting...but they have no real neutral spots to play their games.

LA, its either UCLA's Home Field or USC's.
San Francisco is basically Stanford and Cal's back yard.
Seattle, well, Washington and Washington State.
Phoenix, Airzona State.
Where would they have a neutral site game?

[Collier11]

Tijuana

[afs]

San Diego.

[delhalew]

The 12PAC got the championship game right. That is a sweet idea. Can you imagine if we got to host championship games.
Kansas City has been good to use, but I wish Jerry World would get swallowed by a sink hole.

[agoo758]

Well I can see why they do that....It is interesting...but they have no real neutral spots to play their games.

LA, its either UCLA's Home Field or USC's.
San Francisco is basically Stanford and Cal's back yard.
Seattle, well, Washington and Washington State.
Phoenix, Airzona State.
Where would they have a neutral site game?

OWEN FIELD! :D

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

Colorado isn't going to have to worry about hosting a championship game for a long long time!:DBILL, OH BILLY MCCARTNEY, PLS. COME BACK, BILLY. WE NEED YA , OH SO BADLY...

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

Well I can see why they do that....It is interesting...but they have no real neutral spots to play their games.

LA, its either UCLA's Home Field or USC's.
San Francisco is basically Stanford and Cal's back yard.
Seattle, well, Washington and Washington State.
Phoenix, Airzona State.
Where would they have a neutral site game?Potato Field in Boise. They could flip a coin to see who gets to wear the blue uniforms.

[King Barry's Back]

I was kinda thinking the same thing. Recruiting? Thier fans are already probably bitching about this.

1. Recruiting.

2. Big TV market. (no NFL competition)