This debate between the Pac-12 and Big 12 conferences is for the projected teams in both conferences for the 2024 season.
The Pac-12 and Big 12 are two of the Power Five conferences in college athletics as many fans of college football already know. Most of the teams are located primarily in the western part of the country and it appears the Big 12 is in a better position long term, but they have different strengths and weaknesses that some publications are not focusing on and or leaving out.
Pac-12 Conference 2024
Strengths:
Strong academic institutions
Strong football tradition:
Strong basketball tradition
Large media markets
Weaknesses:
Geographic isolation
Lack of recent success in football
Multiple members leaving the conference
Big 12 Conference 2024
Strengths:
Strong football tradition
Strong basketball tradition
Recent success in football
Recent success in men’s basketball
Weaknesses:
Not as strong academically as the Pac-12
Not as many strong large media markets as the Pac-12
In recent years, the Big 12 conference has been more successful in football than the Pac-12 with TCU being the most recent Big 12 member to win a game in the college football playoffs. The Big 12 is adding new members to its conference where the Pac-12 is losing members.
However, the Pac-12 has a number of strengths that the Big 12 does not. The Pac-12 has more strong academic institutions, which may give it an edge in recruiting. The Pac-12 also has a number of large media markets, which gives it more potential revenue.
It is difficult to say which conference is better overall in terms of overall value in the ongoing debate on conference expansion. The Big 12 has been more successful in football and men’s basketball in recent years, but the Pac-12 has a number of strengths that the Big 12 does not. Ultimately, the best conference for a particular school will depend on the school’s specific needs and goals which vary from university to university.
Let’s look at head-to-head comparisons of the schools that are as of now expected to be in each conference to start the 2024 season.
College football realignment is primarily based on four distinct and defined key factors that do not directly correlate to what transpires on the field of play. Both fans bases on each of the two conferences are arguing on social media about which conference is better or more valuable so these three factors are how we are going to determine which school is the winner of the head-to-head matchups.
A. The total money that the university brings in through its athletic department via revenue and its overall financial forecast and projections moving forward. As well as the University’s endowment which is money and assets under their control that fund operations
B. The university’s TV and streaming market in higher populated areas for the conference.
C. The overall academic standing and integrity of the university and an example of this is if the school is a member of the Association of American Universities or their overall academic rankings in the U.S. News & World Report national rankings.
Let’s take a look at the first match-up between the Pac-12 and Big-12 schools.
Here are the expected schools to be in each conference in 2024.
Big 12
Baylor
BYU
Cincinnati
Colorado
Houston
Iowa State
Kansas
Kansas State
Oklahoma State
TCU
Texas Tech
UCF
West Virginia
Pac 12
*Arizona (Rumored to be leaving for the Big 12)
*Arizona State (Rumored to be leaving for the Big 12)
California-Berkley
Oregon State
Stanford
*Utah (Rumored to be leaving for the Big 12)
Washington State
Due to there being a 13 to 4 difference between the schools and assuming that Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah do leave the Pac-12 for the Big 12, the matchups may be two Big 12 schools versus one Pac-12 school.
The First category we will look at is total revenue by each school according to NCAA Finances Revenue and Expenses by School report by USA Today and the annual university athletic department figures mandated by the U.S. Department of Education and its Equity in Athletics Data Analysis (EADA) arm report by PennLive. Lastly, the university’s current endowment according to College Raptor.
In the second category, we will explore the academics of the school according to their ranking in the U.S. News & World Report and if the school is a member of the Association of American Universities.
The third category we will look at is the tv/market that the school will bring according to the latest 2022-2023 Nielsen DMA Ranking.
First, match up is Washington State vs. TCU
Location of both schools
TCU is located in Fort Worth, Texas, a large city with a population of over 900,000 people. WSU is located in Pullman, Washington, a smaller city with a population of about 30,000 people.
Academics
Both TCU and WSU offer a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs. TCU’s strengths include business, education, and the arts. WSU’s strengths include agriculture, engineering, and the sciences.
TCU is more of an urban university with a strong academic reputation, whereas WSU is a smaller, more affordable school.
Total Revenue/Endowment: N/A (USA Today), $61.2 million (Penn Live), and $1,584,160,000
Academics: No. 89 (U.S. News & World Report) and not an AAU member
TV/Streaming Market: No. 5 (Nielsen DMA Ranking)
Total Revenue/Endowment: $85,028,825 (USA Today), $44 million (Penn Live), and $634 million
Academics: No. 212 (U.S. News & World Report) and not an AAU member
TV/Streaming Market: No. 67 (Nielsen DMA Ranking)
Winner: TCU wins the first one for the Big 12
The second, match-up is Stanford vs. Iowa State and West Virginia.
Location of all three schools: West Virginia University is located in the north-central part of the state with a population of just over 30,000, while Stanford University is located in a city in Silicon Valley with a population of approximately 63,000 and Iowa State University is located in a college town in the Midwest with a population of just over 67,000.
Total Revenue/Endowment: $105,193,311 (USA Today), $19 million (Penn Live), and $213.8 million
Academics: No. 234 (U.S. News & World Report) and not an AAU member
TV/Streaming Market: No. 174 (Nielsen DMA Ranking)
Total Revenue/Endowment: $111,287,492 (USA Today) $52.1 million (Penn Live), $1,350,000,000
Academics: No. 127 (U.S. News & World Report) and is no longer an AAU member
TV/Streaming Market: No. 68 (Nielsen DMA Ranking)
Total Revenue/Endowment: N/A (USA Today) $52.1 million (Penn Live), $28,948,111,000
Academics: No. 3 (U.S. News & World Report) and is an AAU member
TV/Streaming Market: 10 (Nielsen DMA Ranking)
Winner: Stanford wins the second match-up for the Pac 12
The third, match-up is Oregon State vs. Houston and Cincinnati.
Location of all three schools: Oregon State University is located in a small city in the Pacific Northwest called Corvallis with a population of approximately 59,000, while the University of Cincinnati is located in a large city in the Midwest with a population of just under 309,000 and the University of Houston is located in a major city in the South with a population of 2.3 million.
Total Revenue/Endowment: $83,480,015 (USA Today), $35.6 million (Penn Live), and $757,362,984
Academics: No. 151 tied (U.S. News & World Report) and not an AAU member
TV/Streaming Market: No. 119 (Nielsen DMA Ranking)
Total Revenue/Endowment: $83,344,028 (USA Today), N/A (Penn Live), and 1.8 billion
Academics: No. 151 tied (U.S. News & World Report) and not an AAU member
TV/Streaming Market: No. 36 (Nielsen DMA Ranking)
Total Revenue/Endowment: $78,088,086 (USA Today), N/A (Penn Live), and 1 Billion
Academics: No. 182 tied (U.S. News & World Report) and not an AAU member
TV/Streaming Market: No. 7 (Nielsen DMA Ranking)
Winner: Cincinnati helps the Big 12 win the third match-up for the Big 12
The fourth, match-up is Cal vs. Kansas and Baylor.
Location of all three schools: UC Berkeley is located in a major city in the San Francisco Bay Area, while the University of Kansas is located in a college town in the Midwest, and Baylor University is located in a city between Dallas and Austin in Texas.
Total Revenue/Endowment: $118,020,175 (USA Today), $40.6 (Penn Live), and 2.1 Billion
Academics: No. 121 tied (U.S. News & World Report) and an AAU member
TV/Streaming Market: No. 33 (Nielsen DMA Ranking)
Total Revenue/Endowment: N/A (USA Today), $56.6 million (Penn Live), and $1,381,438,000
Academics: No. 77 tied (U.S. News & World Report) and not an AAU member
TV/Streaming Market: No. 5 (Nielsen DMA Ranking)
Total Revenue/Endowment: $118,212,179 (USA Today), $36.1 million (Penn Live), and $6.8 Billion
Academics: No. 20 tied (U.S. News & World Report) and an AAU member
TV/Streaming Market: No. 10 (Nielsen DMA Ranking)
Winner: Cal wins the Fourth match-up for the Pac 12
The Big 12 wins because Colorado and other Pac 12 schools left to join the Big 12 conference starting in 2024.
The Pac-12 has a ton of tradition and has some amazing schools that thrive academically, financially, and in various sports. The 2023 football season will see twelve teams take the field but four of them are going to the Big Ten conference in UCLA, USC, Oregon, and Washington. Colorado is going to the Big 12 and it is heavily rumored that Utah, Arizona, and Arizona State will be joining them.
The four schools that likely remain are Cal, Stanford, Oregon State, and Washington State. The Pac-12 can expand and add schools like San Diego State, SMU, Tulane, Memphis, South Florida, Air Force, and Colorado State but they may not be enough to save the conference.
The schools not compared in the article to Pac-12 teams in BYU, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, UCF, and Texas Tech hold value and bring something positive to the Big 12 conference. Any of those five Big 12 schools in comparison to any additions the Pac-12 may add, will be considered a more valuable school. In the end, the Big 12 won the conference realignment battle between the two conferences.