Connelly on adjustment: Keeping in mind the Pac-12, evaluating the moves and

• Bill Connelly, ESPN Staff WriterAug 6, 2023, 08:00 AM ET

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  Bill Connelly is a staff author for ESPN.com.It was constantly

a marital relationship of geographic benefit out West.In the late 1950s, the Pacific Coast Conference disbanded since of a number of feuds and scandals among its members. Five of them (Cal, Stanford, UCLA, USC and Washington) chose for a bit they ‘d rather form a new conference with schools from the other side of the nation– Army, Navy, Notre Dame, Penn State, Syracuse– than with Idaho, Oregon, Oregon State and Washington State.But it ended up the world wasn’t yet ready for what was being called the Airplane Conference. The 5 members joined back up with 3 of the other four major Western schools( sorry, Idaho)and soldiered on in what would ultimately end up being the Pac-8, Pac-10 (with Arizona and Arizona State)and Pac-12 (with Utah and Colorado). Apparently, the world is all set for a couple of

Plane Conferences now. It had much better be, anyhow. In 2022, the Big Ten broke location by announcing it was including USC and UCLA to its otherwise mainly Midwestern ranks. And Friday, the most momentous(and, to some, devastating)day of this whole conference realignment age, something when unimaginable unfolded. The Big Ten also decided to add Oregon and Washington, while the Huge 12, having currently re-added Colorado a week earlier, accepted applications from Arizona, Arizona State and Utah.The Pac-12 is now a Pac-4, with only Cal, Oregon State, Stanford and Washington State remaining. And for really only the 2nd time in the history of college football, we have experienced the downfall of a power conference. As with the SWC in the mid-1990s, some soon-to-be previous Pac-12 schools face a profitable future with some interesting(and some less amazing)brand-new conference competitions on the horizon. Others, on the other hand, have actually been left behind to face a dirty future.