A New Chapter in Pac-12 Wrestling

The changes enacted have had immediate resonance among current members of the Pac-12. The first policy change is the lynchpin of them all: removing the "restriction" that placed an arbitrary ceiling for Pac-12 wrestling membership at 6 total teams, legislating that the sport minimizes the use of affiliate-members. With the restriction, growth was literally impossible in the Pac-12. ​​"Living on the perpetual bubble of six teams and not being able to grow past six has been difficult," Jones reflected. With the restriction null and void, Coach Pendleton welcomes the progressive shift in the conference. "Instead of forcing us into a box, the conference is open to new ideas and open to growing the sport and open to trying new things."

For long-time affiliate-member Cal Poly and others like them, "[t]he ability to host the [Pac-12] Championships will also bring value to campus and community." Sioredas added that the structuring of a balanced conference dual-schedule, "will also alleviate some of our extensive travel by allowing us to cluster our away conference schedule geographically -- allowing us to compete against multiple schools at a time while on the road."

Future affiliate-members, too, will benefit from the new, affiliate-friendly policies. In a conference where affiliate-members already have voting rights (a rarity in collegiate athletic conferences), they will also be eligible for hosting the conference tournament, a privilege previously reserved for the charter members (Arizona State, Oregon State, and Stanford). The economics of such perks are not lost on conference coaches. "We want to truly elevate [affiliate-members'] position in the conference, to provide them strength, provide them an opportunity to provide exposure to their school, their program, as well as the potential to generate revenue," posits Jones. "We want to make all our teams in the conference stronger; that's the goal." In a sport where many programs rely heavily on fundraising to generate revenue, the ability to generate upwards of $100,000 by hosting the conference tournament is no small opportunity.

Taken altogether, conference coaches are pleased with the outlook of the Pac-12 Conference. "These changes will strengthen our conference from a competitive standpoint, and more importantly, illustrate that wrestling is important to the Pac-12. It also creates [an] opportunity for any west coast institutions considering starting or transition[ing] to Division I wrestling, to have a conference that makes sense geographically and monetarily," concludes Sioredas.

Jon Sioredas and Chris Chionuma with Bernie Traux (Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

The question remains, who will join the Pac-12 in the future? Personal wishes and dreams have Cal Berkeley, UC Davis, UCLA, Oregon, and USC at the top of the list. For the conference coaches, they are not limiting themselves to the West Coast; they enter into the future with open minds. "We want to be greedy, we're being very proactive, we want top-level competition, we want as many programs as we can take on, we want to become one of the preeminent conferences in the nation," Pendleton stated, short of listing potential teams of interest. For Jones, teams "that want to be in the Pac-12" from coast-to-coast are all welcome, including the geographically proximal Northern Colorado, Utah Valley, and Wyoming. Sioredas included additional former Western Wrestling Conference programs Air Force, North Dakota State, and South Dakota State as potential future affiliates.

The elephant in the room, of course, is the recent and ongoing Big XII split involving the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas moving out of the Big XII for the SEC, in a football-heavy decision by those respective campuses. For wrestling, there are significant implications to consider as Oklahoma's storied-wrestling program is set to leave the Big XII. If rumors of Oklahoma State's intention to leave for the B1G come to pass, we may face a wrestling landscape where Iowa State is the remaining BigXII charter member. The situation would become incredibly tenuous for the sport of wrestling in the BigXII. Conversely, the ongoing BigXII split may present unique opportunities for affiliate membership additions in the Pac-12. "Who wouldn't want Oklahoma State, or Iowa State, or West Virginia in the Pac-12? You'd be crazy to not want them," Jones remarked.

Amidst the turmoil among the national athletic conferences, the Pac-12 has found an opportune time to seek growth and development. Where trepidation previously existed for over a decade, 'stability' has taken its place. "The stability of the Pac12 is definitely a selling point," Pendleton asserts. The hope for the wrestling community, in the American West, to the Midwest, and beyond to New England, is that this newfound stability is enduring. "With the Pac12 stabilizing itself and now getting into a growth position, now you have the opportunity where if a [charter] program down the road wanted to add, they could," Jones explained. It is yet to be seen which programs will join the Pacific-12 Conference, but the possibilities are, now, limitless. May we see the conference grow back to its 'Pac-10' roots of the early 2000s? To 12? 16? We very well may. One thing is for sure: there hasn't been a better time to be a fan of Pac-12 Wrestling.