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Overall PAC12 football experience

UtahaluminTX

Well-Known Member
Hello Buffs.
Long time and no visits nor posts. But I got to thinking and am interested in your take. After 8 years in this "conference of champions" - that also plays football - what are your thoughts? Utah is of course still pretty happy to just have escaped upward from the MWC and into the comparative $. Hence your view is instructive. Was Big 8 better? Was Big XII better? I imagine being away from Texas-Austin is not missed at all? Are the new road trips better / same / worse? Someone out there probably misses going to Ames - maybe? On the whole are you good with this league? BTW, was pulling hard for you against Nebr and U$C. I think you won the one of those that you would choose?
 
I grew up with the Big 8, so I'll always have a soft spot for that time. However, college football and athletics has changed, so I'm glad with the move still. BUT, the PAC 12 Network struggles is something I question.

Road trips are MUCH better. I still haven't been to most of the schools yet either. I also like the schools more . But that is also something I miss - hating another school. In the PAC, I don't like some schools, but generally, I don't hate anyone close to how I hate nebraska...or even kansas...or even iowa state...or even you get the idea.
 
Losing a ton since we came to the Pac 12 hasn’t been fun, but that’s not the leagues fault.

I think most people like the Pac 12 better in many ways. Better footprint for alumni, culturally more aligned, better academic league, etc.

I think there is disappointment in the financial performance of the league, refs suck, kick off times less than optimal, frustration over TV distribution of the network.

Finally, and this is probably similar for you, we lack a rival. Utah feels forced.

I wouldn’t go back to the Big 12, but the switch hasn’t been as good as I thought.
 
I was very fortunate and grew up during our glory years in the Big 8. My dad was the president of the Boulder Buff club when we went to the Orange Bowl.
I was never much of a fan of the Big 12, particularly the Texas schools.
I am glad for the move to the Pac-12, just wish we could have more success in it.
I have already been to 4 Pac-12 stadiums and plan to hit them all within the next 5 years. Do not like the Pac-12 Network or the Pac-12 officials. Those two areas need work.
USC is starting to gain a lot of traction towards the level of hate of Nebraska, Texas and Oklahoma. Oregon is not far behind SC either. A lot of dislike for Washington because we haven’t beat them since our glory years, but not quite the same level of hate as SC or Oregon.
 
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Creebuzz said:
Losing a ton since we came to the Pac 12 hasn’t been fun, but that’s not the leagues fault.

I think most people like the Pac 12 better in many ways. Better footprint for alumni, culturally more aligned, better academic league, etc.

I think there is disappointment in the financial performance of the league, refs suck, kick off times less than optimal, frustration over TV distribution of the network.

Finally, and this is probably similar for you, we lack a rival. Utah feels forced.

I wouldn’t go back to the Big 12, but the switch hasn’t been as good as I thought.
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Yeah I totally get you. We aren't rivals at all. And that is fine really. It's cool to actually respect the school and last team you play - I have enjoyed that. Yes refs are bad. Maybe we could just hire away the MWC crews and be done with it. I do pretty much hate U$C and don't feel we get appropriate respect from Washington. So yeah, new rivalries are budding. The year the Buffs crush SC will taste good. CU program is trending up to my eyes. Had to be fun to bid adieu to all the Husker fans at Folsom, the "true believers" in the "winning tradition" ha.
 
Overall happy. The PAC is a better cultural fit for CU than the Big 8/12. The road trips are awesome. The thing I miss most from the old days is the Nebraska game, but I don't really miss playing the others all that much.

If we had a true rival in the PAC I'd be very happy, apart from the financial concerns. Randomly, I feel like ASU is getting there. Just really don't like those ****s. And of course I hate USC, but so does everyone.
 
I've been actively following CU and the Pac 12 for only six years, but here's my take from that perspective. Most of my opinion is shaped by Allbuffs and drunken tailgate conversation.

Positives:
CU fans feel more academically aligned with the Pac12.

Destination cities are more attractive for road trips (balanced with more expensive).

The Pac12 doesn't have Texas as a member.

Negatives:
the chief complaint I see is lack of fan support. UU is obviously an exception, but we see empty stadiums and arenas watching the Pac 12 football and basketball games and it's a bit depressing. a related common complaint is loss of ticket sales from visiting fans (balanced by a fondness for not having many visiting fans -- nobody misses KU fans filling up the basketball arena).

Next biggest complaint is poor media distribution. Apparently more people have DirectTV than I realized.

Other complaints do center around the previously mentioned financial performance, and lack of confidence in conference leadership.

CU and UU are supposed to be rivals but most Buff fans don't feel the hate. Most Buff fans won't admit it, but I'm fairly certain they miss playing Nebraska every year.
 
hokiehead said:
I've been actively following CU and the Pac 12 for only six years, but here's my take from that perspective. Most of my opinion is shaped by Allbuffs and drunken tailgate conversation.

Positives:
CU fans feel more academically aligned with the Pac12.

Destination cities are more attractive for road trips (balanced with more expensive).

The Pac12 doesn't have Texas as a member.

Negatives:
the chief complaint I see is lack of fan support. UU is obviously an exception, but we see empty stadiums and arenas watching the Pac 12 football and basketball games and it's a bit depressing. a related common complaint is loss of ticket sales from visiting fans (balanced by a fondness for not having many visiting fans -- nobody misses KU fans filling up the basketball arena).

Next biggest complaint is poor media distribution. Apparently more people have DirectTV than I realized.

Other complaints do center around the previously mentioned financial performance, and lack of confidence in conference leadership.

CU and UU are supposed to be rivals but most Buff fans don't feel the hate. Most Buff fans won't admit it, but I'm fairly certain they miss playing ****braska every year.
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Can't argue with any of this, but I'd add the football officiating to the Negatives. Nebraska needs us and we need them right now-I'd expect RG to announce more games with Fusker this spring. We're the closest thing they've got to a rival and vice versa.
 
I was 42 when we left so I watched Big 8/12 football for most of my adult life. For whatever reason, I feel like the big 12 is just a better league in terms of overall quality. In other words, there just seemed to be better football in that league overall.
I’m not a Pac-12 self loather but for most of the years we have been in the P12 it has felt like most of the games; even the ones we weren’t playing in, were sloppy, with smaller less athletic players and not well coached.

This year has been much better BTW.

Other than that I’m pretty happy with the move.
 
Bring up many good points. League management doesn't exactly engender confidence. Money deal seemed good 8 years ago but obviously weak today. And yeah seeing an empty Stanford stadium is great ... is this the MAC? West coast just doesn't care as much as Oklahoma/Texas etc. Will be interesting how the next few years play out. Will Big 12 come begging for you all to come back? Can Texas ever be trusted?
 
Seems to be consensus that the intangibles (cultural fit, academics, better roadies) are good and the things that could be changed (****ty referred, Pac12 distribution) are disliked.

That actually makes me hate the things that I don’t like even more - they are well within the control of the Pac 12 Presidents and Commissioner to fix if they would simply pull their collective heads out of their assess.
 
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I love the idea of the PAC more than the reality. It’s been the worst power conference in terms of money/fan support and football/basketball success

I dislike the realities of the BIG12 — Kansas basketball is more consistently dominant than any football/basketball program in the P12, Oklahoma/Texas are much more difficult to deal with on and especially off the field than the blue bloods of the PAC. However, CU is probably better off there unless we see some drastic changes with leadership and media distribution.

I want to see the PAC add U of Houston to the south and Boise State to the north. Houston would be like our Rutgers for media market acquisition but they have far more upside than Rutgers on the field, in recruiting, and fan support. Boise State would immediately increase the quantity of quality football programs with strong fan support. I do not care if they don’t fit exactly into the PAC culture. I don’t want the Oklahoma schools or UNLV or SDSU.
 
I visited most of the Big 8/12 sites, and so far 6 of the Pac 12 sites and I do like the change for road trips. The fans are … complacent and west-coasty, but better than the hillbilly/racist mix I saw in those other places. (Not the rule, but more than an exception.) I do like the other sports that the nice weather out west affords Pac 12 teams, and the focus on academics over athletics. I'm developing a healthy hatred for everything about Arizona, and Oregon fans are starting to grate. Both Utah and Colorado absolutely belong in the league. I would trade Wash State for Boise State tomorrow, on the condition that they grow blue grass, otherwise lose it.

CU's problem is that we've made bad coaching choices since joining this league, in multiple sports. It feels like if we get the right guy in football (fingers crossed we have him), we can be the team everyone hates/envies in about 5 years.
 
The only complaint I have about the PAC is the financial compensation isn’t as great as we were led to believe. Thing is, had we stayed in the B12 we would still be behind where we are now, so I’d say it was a good move.

Plus, we won the men’s hoops title our very first year in the league after languishing in mediocrity in the B12. So that’s cool.
 
It is what it is. Less money than other conferences, the worst commish, terrible officiating, no rival, complacent fan bases, no television coverage, but other than that...

I would still make the move again, however. CU is kind of a school on an island. I don't think CU fits perfectly in the Pac or the Big 12. I'm just hopeful it will get better in time.
 
Highlander said:
Seems to be consensus that the intangibles (cultural fit, academics, better roadies) are good and the things that could be changed (****ty referred, Pac12 distribution) are disliked.

That actually makes me hate the things that I don’t like even more - they are well within the control of the Pac 12 Presidents and Commissioner to fix if they would simply pull their collective heads out of their assess.
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Larry Scott seems to be in the perfect job. Nobody tells him anything apparently and he just floats along hearing no negative feedback while basically printing money. Seems if a couple university presidents cared they could reign this in - within say 60 days? Good thing for Larry that the presidents are busy looking inward I guess.
 
If P12 net was on DTV, nobody would be complaining. That’s the single biggest failure.
 
zbuff said:
We talk about our great cultural fit in the Pac but then want to add BSU? That's just funny. They are just another mouth to feed.
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If I could add anyone to this league, I'd add UNLV and Fusker. The one thing I miss about the Big 12 (other than the good football officials) is the Nebraska game.
 
Any interest in CU joining the Big Ten? The article below mentions CU as a Big Ten expansion candidate, because Denver has a surprisingly high concentration of alums from Big Ten schools. It would provide CU with an annual rivalry game against Nebraska. On the downside, it would probably make recruiting even tougher for CU.

Where Big Ten Alums Live
 
NewEra 2014 said:
Any interest in CU joining the Big Ten? The article below mentions CU as a Big Ten expansion candidate, because Denver has a surprisingly high concentration of alums from Big Ten schools. It would provide CU with an annual rivalry game against ****braska. On the downside, it would probably make recruiting even tougher for CU.

Where Big Ten Alums Live
Click to expand...
I vote No. except for maybe the $
 
NewEra 2014 said:
Any interest in CU joining the Big Ten? The article below mentions CU as a Big Ten expansion candidate, because Denver has a surprisingly high concentration of alums from Big Ten schools. It would provide CU with an annual rivalry game against ****braska. On the downside, it would probably make recruiting even tougher for CU.

Where Big Ten Alums Live
Click to expand...

We get the revenue and the rivalry game. That's it. I'd rather see Nebraska in this league or at least four games with them a decade. If the last two (and Mel trash talking them before he coached a game here) have taught us anything, its that no opponent gets this fanbase fired up like they do.
 
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NewEra 2014 said:
Any interest in CU joining the Big Ten? The article below mentions CU as a Big Ten expansion candidate, because Denver has a surprisingly high concentration of alums from Big Ten schools. It would provide CU with an annual rivalry game against ****braska. On the downside, it would probably make recruiting even tougher for CU.

Where Big Ten Alums Live
Click to expand...

That's just how Denver is though. How many Pac-12 alums are in Denver? I'm guessing it's more. How many Big 12 alums are in Denver I'm guessing it's more.

I think the Big Ten might be fun for a few years but then the novelty would just wear off and we would realize we are just in a slightly more educated version of the Big 12. Just a bunch of boring cities in the Midwest.
 
Money would be good in the Big Ten but I don’t see a recruiting footprint. We’d land in the same wasteland as Nebraska finds itself. We wouldn’t grab enough elite midwestern kids, and would lose California, Vegas, and Arizona, where maybe we are just now starting to gain traction.

CU should stay in the Pac, and be part of the solution to fix some of its very fixable problems.
 
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