Like I linked before in the Morning Links, Pacific is leaving for greener (?) pastures in the Big West. As far as I can tell, this was not a disrespectful move, or one of desperation to leave. It sort of just happened.
Don't get me wrong, I don't want Pacific to leave, but in this case, it's for the best. The Tigers were founding members of both the WCC in 1952 and the Big West in 1969, so it totally makes sense that the Tigers would essentially go back to their roots. Throw in the fact that Pacific is a private religious institution (under the United Methodist Church if anyone's curious) and the were the only private college in the Big West and this move makes Pacific feel even more at home. They were rivals with nobody really from the conference (Regionally, it is UC Davis, but Davis and Cal Poly claim each other rivals. According to various sites I've found Pacific has a rivalry with San Jose State and Utah State.), and the West Coast Conference has one thing that probably attracts them the most, outside of "higher" prestiege: no playing games on Sundays.
Now here are the things I find interesting: nowhere in the school's official statement is any kind of thank you. It's like casting off the island you lived on for over 40 years and wanting nothing to do with it. On the other side, the Big West's official statement, makes it clear that while they didn't want Pacific to leave, it was a very natural move. Maybe I'm reading into it too much, but Pacific had to have been dissatisfied with maybe one or both of the conference expansion moves. Because of the tourism sponsorship, Hawaii was easily a natural move; however, I think San Diego State may have been one where conflicts could have arisen. We're fine at 10 teams why do we need 11, especially a public school that'll probably sweep through the sports? From the time SDSU got accepted to the Big West, that's probably around the time Pacific thought it was time to move out. The monetary benefits of the WCC may be a little more (they do have an ESPN contract), but it probably wasn't significant enough to jump ship immediately, there was more thinking that had to be done. The WCC at 9 teams wanted an even 10, they had looked at Boise State, but BSU went back to the WAC for the time being (until it loses all its members, if that happens).
So does the Big West stay at 10? My initial thoughts are yes, however, do not be surprised if something falls through in the WAC. If the WAC disbands, would the Big West be willing to take other schools? Yes, but only if the Big West can get some nice television contract to help compensate adding more schools. Otherwise, the Big West will stay at 10 teams for a long time.
What do you think of the Pacific move? Now with Pacific going, is this the time to be aggressive and try and get new TV deals and more teams? Comment below.
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