Jim Moore: Pac-8? Pac-13? College football leaders are successfully wrecking the sport

I was a Pac-8 guy when I went to Washington State in the 1970s. And in the next several decades, I became a Pac-10 guy and then a Pac-12 guy.

I know that Pac-12 football isn’t the greatest thing ever, especially compared to the SEC, but it is to me. I’d rather watch a game between Arizona and Cal then Alabama and LSU. And I’ve never cared if it’s at 7:30 on a Friday or Saturday night either, even if it means less conference exposure on the East Coast.

Now it’s all about to change with the news that USC and UCLA will join the Big Ten in 2024. What will it mean for the remaining schools in the Pac-12? Will Washington and Oregon be the next to go to the Big Ten? Will some other Pac-12 schools join the Big 12? Will Washington State and Oregon State be left with college football crumbs and forced to join the Mountain West lest they become conference orphans?

Will the Pac-12 survive as the Pac-10 again? Or will it add Boise State, San Diego State and UNLV and become the Pac-13?

Final question regardless of the answers to all the others - will anyone care what happens?

I won’t. I can’t control what’s going to happen anyway. I’m not going to sit here and worry about the fate of my alma mater. But does it bother me that Washington State might join the Mountain West? Sure. Will I look forward to a Saturday afternoon in Pullman when the Cougs play San Jose State? Yes, but not as much as if they were playing Arizona State.

Thing is, I’m just sick of all of it, first the transfer portal, then the Name, Image and Likeness fiasco, now this, the money grab by schools seeking much greener pastures.

Everyone involved, and chiefly the supposed leaders who prompted so much change, they can all kiss my big fat rear end. Thanks for wrecking my favorite sport. I hope you all choke on your greed.

I wasn’t completely on board with the transfer portal, but it generally seemed like a good thing for the players and their schools. If someone left, another someone could be found to take his place.

But the NIL added another variable to the portal and recruiting because there are no limits on what you can or can’t offer. Some recruits are said to be getting hundreds of thousand of dollars to play at certain schools and a select few are getting seven-figure offers.

If I’m a recruit or a transfer portal player, I might really want to play for a coach and a school, but if another school offers me a lot more money, I’d probably play there too.

I do think players deserve a piece of the action in a billion-dollar industry. But I’ll also say this - I don’t just dislike the NIL, I hate it. I can’t believe there’s no structure to it at all.

For starters, it gives boosters an even bigger say in their athletic programs. I can’t imagine coaches feeling like that can possibly be a good thing.

And as a friend pointed out, boosters who were more inclined to donate to programs for facility upgrades are more apt to donate to players through the NIL now.

Plus as much as I’m glad that Cameron Ward came to WSU to be the starting quarterback, I wonder if he would have been in Pullman if he hadn’t been given a housing allowance and a $60,000 truck. That answer is likely not, and let’s be honest, 10 years from now, maybe 10 days from now, we’ll laugh at what a small payoff that was.

Then next year, if Ward is as good as people expect him to be, he’ll be off to the NFL or off to a school in a more prominent conference that will give him a better chance to play for a national championship and a better truck. I find it hard to not be cynical during normal times and harder during times like these.

If Washington State stays in a neutered Pac-10 or an expanded Pac-13 or whatever the number turns out to be, it will have more difficulties attracting premier players. I acknowledge that it was already not the most desirable destination for many even if it’s God’s Country to those of us who went to school there.

And if that turns out to be the case, the Apple Cup could become more one-sided in the Huskies’ favor than it already has been through the series’ history. Year in, year out Washington in the Big Ten would get more top tier talent than Washington State, reducing the chances for a consistently competitive rivalry.

So while we wait for the next development from the next school opting to go somewhere else, I’ll reminisce about the Pac-8, 10 and 12, and rue what college football has turned into - a big flippin’ joke.

Jim Moore has covered Washington’s sports scene from every angle for multiple news outlets. You can find him on Twitter @cougsgo, and on 950 KJR-AM, where he co-hosts a sports talk show from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekdays.