SALT LAKE CITY — After 14 months of silence from the 10 Pac-12 schools following USC and UCLA's departure to the Big Ten, another domino finally fell last week when Colorado rejoined the Big 12.
With no media rights deal announced, and no new members after things fell apart with San Diego State, the Pac-12 now finds themselves in an extremely precarious position with only nine member schools after 2024.
Locked on Utes host JT Wistrcill broke down the state of the conference on a recent episode, including whether Utah should be in panic mode following the latest maneuver from Colorado.
"The Pac-12 is not dead right now," Wistrcill said. "Anytime you have schools leaving your conference, that's not a good sign. But once again, the Pac-12 is not dead yet. It's not time to panic yet, there are still lots of strong teams still in the Pac-12."
The Pac-12 can withstand the loss of Colorado on its own, but the primary concern is if other programs will follow suit. Arizona and Arizona State have long been rumored to follow Colorado to the Big 12, and Oregon and Washington aren't keen on hanging around a sinking ship if they can avoid it.
Utah has had significant success on the gridiron the past few years, and with a healthy brand recognition, a solid media footprint in a big city in Salt Lake, and a sturdy alumni base, this is a program that should draw interest from other major conferences, should things fully fall apart in the conference of champions.
While it may not be time to panic yet, the Pac-12 isn't necessarily a long term answer for the Utes, unless things start to come together quickly for George Kliavkoff regarding a media deal and at least one, ideally three, new members.