Status quo turns into moving target
Oregon pulled off a run of three wins in three days, capped by a championship that propelled the Ducks into the NCAA Tournament.
Standing on a makeshift stage next to the Pac-12 tournament trophy, the players danced and shouted as confetti fell in one big Las Vegas party.
With the revelry came the realization the moment was also a wake, a goodbye to a once-great conference that splintered amid a rapidly transforming college sports landscape.
“Part of me is really sad that this is not going to be here because like all the coaches in the league, I like to travel in the league and those things are all going to change,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said. “But change is exciting also, even at my age. I am kind of looking forward to it. It's going to be a different challenge.”
Change is naturally ingrained in college athletics, from the sheer number of schools, studentathletes and sports to the needs in a range of conferences big and small.
The process has been accelerating, chaos becoming the status quo.
Name, Image and Likeness has opened new revenue-earning opportunities for student-athletes once considered purely amateurs. With it, schools and coaches have had to adapt or get left behind. The NCAA has been forced to create new rules to keep up with the money flow.
The transfer portal has created a maelstrom of madness not limited to March, with programs practically starting over every season as players move through a revolving door that opens just as teams are preparing for the postseason.
The massive shifts have shaken the foundation of the NCAA, changing the governing organization's structure as its tries to keep up with the world of college athletics.
“There's constant change and so you have to embrace that,” ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said. “For some, I think there's a tug to go back and can't we undo some of these things. And I think that's counterproductive.”
The latest round of conference realignment could reshape college sports.
Realignment had slowed since the previous mass of conference swapping in the early 2010s, with a handful of schools moving to new leagues each year.
Texas and Oklahoma ignited the latest round by announcing last year they would be leaving the Big 12 for SEC riches in 2024. Southern California and UCLA followed by bolting from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten.
Losing two marquee schools, along with the lack of a new media rights deal for the Pac-12, forced the remaining schools in the conference to rethink their futures. A mass exodus followed, leaving only Oregon State and Washington State stuck in a league once dubbed the “Conference of Champions.”
“We all grew up with the Pac-8, Pac-10, Pac-12, and to see it go away is something sad,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said.