Pac-10 formally becomes the Pac-12 with July 1 addition of Utah Utes, Colorado Buffaloes to the new conference's southern football division
By Eric Peck
July 5, 2011 4:03 a.m.
The Pac-10 officially welcomed Utah and Colorado this week to become the Pac-12 in the first shakeup for the conference since 1978. The biggest impact will be seen in football, as the additional teams have allowed the conference to be divided into north and south divisions for football only.
California, Stanford, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington and Washington State will make up the Pac-12 North, while Colorado and Utah will join UCLA, USC, Arizona, and Arizona State in the southern division.
For football, each division will have a champion and those teams will compete in the first-ever Pac-12 Championship Game, scheduled for December 2.
Colorado comes from the Big 12 conference, while Utah comes from the Mountain West Conference and was previously a member of the Western Athletic Conference, as were Arizona and Arizona State before they joined the Pac-8 in 1978 to create the Pac-10.
UCLA football will face off in their first conference matchup against Utah in Salt Lake City on Nov. 12, and will return to Pasadena the following week for a home game against Colorado on Nov. 19.
Each team in the conference will play five games against divisional opponents and four games against non-divisional opponents, as well as three nonconference games.
This season, UCLA won a favorable draw as they will face California, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State from the north division. This means the Bruins will miss the Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies, two teams that are considered competitors for the Pac-12 North crown.
With the Trojans ineligible for any postseason play for another year, the Buffaloes and Utes find themselves in a vacuum of sorts, where a spot in the southern division championship game is a tangible possibility.
This excitement was seen in both Salt Lake City and Boulder, as the cities and governors of both states enthusiastically declared July 1 to be Pac-12 Day.
The new teams allow the conference to pursue media rights deals worth billions in revenue. All signs point to the Pac-12 having its own television network in a partnership with both Fox and ESPN.
This will significantly increase national exposure for the conference and generate revenue for the conference over the coming years.
The divisional split does not apply to sports other than football, and the majority of UCLA teams will prepare only to face two new opponents in the 2011-2012 season.
The conference has updated its website to http://www.pac-12.org. The site aims to enhance the fans’ experience with an improved newsfeed, scores and schedules, along with direct links to Twitter.
Compiled by Eric Peck, Bruin Sports senior staff.
