The 2023 summer of realignment surprisingly emerged as one of the most chaotic in recent memory. The Pac-12 as we know it could be on the verge of collapsing after more than 100 years, and now its members are scattering in what has become the latest reshaping of college football.
Following the Pac-12’s lackluster media rights presentation, Oregon and Washington opted to take partial shares to join the Big Ten. Soon afterwards, the remaining so-called “Four Corners” schools — Arizona, Arizona State and Utah — followed Colorado to the Big 12. Oregon State, Washington State, California and Stanford remain in a holding pattern as Pac-12 leadership attempts to learn what’s next.
Ultimately, all six members that left the conference — eight including USC and UCLA — will make more money in their new homes. However, the consequences for every athletic department could be wide-ranging. Here are the winners and losers of the most recent round of realignment, perhaps the most destructive session yet.
Winner: Colorado
The Buffaloes have quietly been one of the headiest programs in realignment over the last 15 years. When it looked like the Big 12 could go under in 2010, Colorado allied itself with the then-safe ground of the Pac-12. Now, Colorado ran back to its old friends in the Big 12 right before the foundation started crumbling in the Pac-12.
Unlike every other team on this list, Colorado’s move actually reunites it with a handful of historic rivals from the old Big Eight. The Buffaloes have played Kansas 70 times and Iowa State 65 times and built rivalries with schools in Texas and Oklahoma during a stint in the Big 12.
Perhaps most importantly, rejoining the Big 12 also allows coach Deion Sanders to go down into Texas and recruit. Sanders spent nearly a decade coaching high school players in Texas after playing for the Dallas Cowboys. Creating a recruiting pipeline out of the Lone Star…
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