“The final seconds tick off the clock. Hugely disappointing for the Ducks, and an incredible win, this beautiful scene in Corvallis. The ninth win of the year for the Beavers and now it’s official: 38-34,” said ESPN commentator Dave Flemming after the 2022 matchup between Oregon and Oregon State.
The game, perceived to only be a matchup with many more to come alongside a historic Pac-12 rivalry, will be no more. The University of Oregon has moved to the Big Ten as the whole college world has shifted with the legalization of Name, Image, and Likeness deals.
The entire Pac-12 conference has changed as we know, as Oregon State and Washington State will be the only remnants of the conference.
With the history of the Pac-12 stretching to over a century ago, it has become a cornerstone in college football. Its “after dark” personality led to memorable moments for fans, especially in the recent decades that earned the nickname.
One notable moment was when Mike Leach, former head coach of the Washington State Cougars who took pride in the air raid style offense, upset the University of Southern California Trojans in 2017. In his ESPN interview following the game, he stated the environment was “like Woodstock, ‘cept everybody’s got their clothes on.”
The Pac-12 conference maintained the motto of being the conference of champions in student excellence on and off the field. By revisiting college sports history, the Pac-12 helps tell the intricate stories of the evolution of college sports.
The Pac-12’s historical impact appeared evident, for example, with the “Bush Push” game in 2005 when USC led themselves to victory over the blue blood program, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Another historical moment was when students found themselves in a game-ending play when the iconic “The band is on the field” moment occurred in 1982 to lead Cal Berkeley in a last-second win over the Stanford Cardinals.
With the history of the Pac-12 coming to an end, coaches and athletes are sharing their thoughts on the current state of the conference.
“All you’ve got to do is look at what happened to this great conference and realize it can happen to all college sports,” said Mick Cronin, head coach of UCLA men’s basketball, in a postgame press conference on March 14 following Oregon’s victory over the Bruins.
Historical “firsts” and building athletic legacies make up Pac-12 history. Ricky Monday, who was a representative of Arizona State University, was the first ever player selected in the first draft of MLB in 1965.
OSU was one of the most dominant baseball teams in recent decades with three College World Series Championships under their belt since 2000.
The Pac-12 nickname the “Conference of Champions” has been demonstrated by recent achievements like Stanford’s 2021 championship for women’s basketball, all the way back to Bill Walton leading UCLA to their seventh straight men’s basketball championship on the court in 1973.
As every team in the Pac-12 begins their new journey and creates new history with their programs, only two teams will remain toeing the slab. Oregon State and Washington State can still chant the conference diversity statement “We are People, Allies, and Champions. We are the Pac-12.”
