Football
Matching Big 12 Programs with their Pac-12 Equivalent
OK, let’s get weird.
People love to hate on the Pac-12. Maybe because its games start after bedtime, or because its network is hard to find (at best).
But that sure doesn’t stop us from talking about the league out west.
In fact, people love to talk about the Pac-12, even if it’s just for conference expansion talk or lol’ing at USC or doing the same at former Big 12 member Colorado. Come to think of it, that’s really the only reason we ever talk about the Pac-12.
Truth is, though, the Big 12 isn’t all that dissimilar. In terms of annual revenue, the two are in the same ball park, thus the recent discussion — if only a hypothetical — about a potential merger, geographic oddities be damned.
Conference | FY 2015 | FY 2016 | FY 2017 | FY 2018 | FY 2019 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SEC | $32.7M | $40.4M | $41M | $43.7M | $45.3M |
Big Ten | $32.4M | $34.8M | $37M | $54M | $55M |
ACC | $26.2M | $23.8M | $26.6M | $29.5M | |
Big 12 | $23.4M | $28.5M | $34.3M | $36.5M | $38.8M |
Pac 12 | $25.1M | $28.7M | $30.9M | $31.3M |
To take this argument one step further, I wanted to try and compare Pac-12 programs to Big 12 programs. Figure I’ve got some time, so why not? I’ll state my best case for why I think each program is a match below.
Pac-12-Big 12 matches
1. Oregon
Big 12 match: Baylor
Am I basing this strictly off the flashy uniforms each program boasts? Well, yeah. Baylor is the midwest Oregon on a slightly less appealing color spectrum.
2. UCLA
Big 12 match: Oklahoma
UCLA has an historic athletic program (especially in basketball). Oklahoma has an historic athletic program (especially in football). Also, both willing to spend some big cash to win big.
3. USC
Big 12 match: Texas
This was the easiest match. Just like USC, Texas absolutely believes it is a top-5 job despite results annually on the contrary. Maybe it’s a top-5 job but neither have been top-5 programs the last decade.
4. Arizona State
Big 12 match: Texas Tech
Both programs almost always have (fairly) relevant football and basketball programs, and both are often overshadowed by the other major university (universities) in the state. (Texas Tech with Texas, TCU and Baylor, and Arizona State with Arizona.)
5. Arizona
Big 12 match: Kansas
Both great basketball programs, both pretty wildly unsuccessful football programs by contrast. Arizona has just one 10-win season since the turn of the century!
6. Colorado
Big 12 match: West Virginia
West Virginia’s the one Big 12 team that makes little sense geographically. Colorado’s pushing it.
7. Stanford
Big 12 match: TCU
A well-known institution like Stanford, and both are private. Both have had varying levels of success — some even sustained — over the last decade.
8. Washington
Big 12 match: Iowa State
Hands down, UW is more successful. But — and this is anecdotal, but hear me out — I feel like both are generally held in a higher light than they probably should be as football programs. UW has only three conference titles since 1995, and Iowa State ….. zero since 1912. (LOL.)
9. Utah
Big 12 match: Oklahoma State
Both have wildly successful, tenured head coaches. Both win somewhere between seven and 10 games with regularity. And neither are ever really considered a frontrunner — even when they probably should be.
10. California
Big 12 match: Kansas State
Often forgot about it, but almost always a factor — either as a darkhorse or as a spoiler. Gritty history with tough-nosed coaches, too.
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