The Pac-12 is entering its final stretch and while many are wistful, even unconverted the fact is that this will be the last College Basketball season under the umbrella.
The Pac-12 might retain its name with Mountain West considering holding onto it, and Washington and Oregon still litigating.
But the reality is that college basketball will not look the same next season.
There will be new rivalries, extra traveling logistics and a strength versus strength structure, emboldened by television rights.
Stories universities such as USC, UCLA and Stanford have aligned themselves to a Big-10 or ACC program.
Change is inevitable, even at the most traditional of places, the universities.
National Association of Basketball Coaches executive director Craig Robinson told Front Office Sports that logistics is the problem keeping them up at night.
“You have to be very intentional in trying to make it so that it doesn’t put the student-athlete in a precarious position from a health standpoint, from a mental health standpoint, and an academic standpoint,” Robinson said. “It’s just going to be tough for the student-athlete.”
Coaches have the same concerns, with Georgetown men’s coach Ed Cooley telling reporters, “When they talk about student welfare and, you know, travel — just think about this: Stanford is in the ACC.”
The administration and broadcasters will always have the final say, “You could have every single coach say, ‘We don’t think this is a good idea,’” Robinson said. “But if it’s a good idea financially, and for the institution, and for the ecosystem — it’s going to take place,” concluded Robinson.
