Pac-12 Football: The Conference of Champions should expand

It’s been six years since Pac-12 Football came to fruition as Colorado and Utah joined the conference and became UCLA Football rivals. Should the conference keep expanding?

The Pac-12 has fallen behind other conferences in recent years. The last Pac-12 Football school to win a national championship from the conference was USC in 2004. Before that? Washington won a split national championship in 1991.

The Pac-12 has won a grand total of three football national championships since 1974. One major name missing from that list, the UCLA Football team who split a national championship in 1954. It’s clear, the conference needs to step up to keep up.

Three of the five power conferences have at least 14 members and the ACC holds 15 members. The Pac-12 would be smart to add at least two more teams to their conference. This would ensure that the Pac-12 doesn’t get left behind if some of the other power five conferences continue to add to 16 teams. Here are some of the options should the Pac-12 add members.

BYU Cougars

BYU makes a lot of sense from a number of standpoints. First, they have great football tradition. Though they have not been great in recent years, they won a national title in 1984 and had a Heisman winner in 1990 (Ty Detmer). Adding BYU would bring in a school that has a strong focus on football and has strong tradition.

BYU would also resume its natural rivalry with Utah. A Holy War game with conference standing implications would only add to what is already one of the best rivalries in the sport.

Boise State Broncos

Boise State would be an interesting addition to the Pac-12. They have been one of the best football programs over the last 10 years, though they have not gotten over the national championship hump. A jump to a power five conference could be all they need to break through.

From the conference’s standpoint, adding another solid football school would help boost the reputation of the conference that has been down for a number of years. Boise State could also develop rivalries with either Utah or Colorado because of their geographic proximity.

Houston Cougars

Adding Houston would be mutually beneficial for both parties. Houston has made it clear that they want in with a power five conference after applying to be added to the Big-12 this past year, only to have the Big-12 nix expanding all together.

Houston would add a big market to the Pac-12, and would also open the floodgates to a lot of recruits in Texas. Houston has also seen a resurgence in recent years under Tom Herman, who recently left to take over the job at Texas.

Texas Longhorns

The final school on this list is by far the biggest long shot. Texas is an elite football program with a huge following and great boosters. Adding Texas would instantly boost the reputation of the conference.

Though, its unlikely Texas will want to leave the Big-12 to join the Pac-12 although they did consider it in 2010. If Texas were to join the Pac-12, it would likely mean the end of the Big-12 and a new era of four 16 team super-conferences.

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Though it’s unlikely to be imminent, the Pac-12 should consider expanding to boost the reputation of the conference and to keep up with other ever-expanding conferences. Any of these schools would instantly help the conference.