Pac-12 Alignment: Pro's, Con's, Possibilities

With the Pac-10/Pac-12 getting closer and closer to reaching an agreement with alignment and revenue, an abundance of speculation is seeping its way to the inter-webs. It sounds like the conference is going to go into a North/South split as opposed to a "Zipper" model that would divide the six natural rivalries in separate divisions. The only question remains is where Stanford and California will end up: in the North with the Northwest schools, or in the South with the L.A. and Arizona schools.

Here is what the divisions would look like with all the California schools together, we'll call this Plan A:

North

Colorado

Oregon

Oregon State

Utah

Washington

Washington State

South

Arizona

Arizona State

California

Stanford

UCLA

USC

Geographically, this makes slightly more sense. The Bay Area is further south than Utah/Colorado by a slight margin, and this is what the California schools are pushing for. However, the Oregon and Washington schools would like to have the California schools in their division, ensuring trips to the state on a yearly basis.

From a competition standpoint, having Utah and Colorado in the North division is pretty appealing. Utah has enjoyed plenty of success over the past decade, going to two BCS games as an at large team in the last six seasons. Colorado has struggled as of late, but they are not too far removed from being kings of the Big 12's North division, where they made frequent appearances in the title game earlier in the decade.

Having Stanford and California in the North would give the conference this look, Plan B:

North

California

Oregon

Oregon State

Stanford

Washington

Washington State

South

Arizona

Arizona State

Colorado

UCLA

USC

Utah

At first glance, this seems like the more attractive option to the North, especially with the resurgence of Stanford under coach Harbaugh. But the program hasn't necessarily proved it has staying power over the years, and California seems to put together poor seasons when the expectations are high, and have surprising ones when people jump back off the bandwagon.

Being a fan from the Northwest, I would personally prefer to see the North snag Utah and Colorado. Let the California schools stay together, where they can beat up on each other year in and year out. I also don't think it's fair to put the two newcomers together with the L.A. schools, which would help their recruiting causes with frequent exposure in the Los Angeles market. I also like the potential of Utah as a real threat to the Oregon schools for "North supremacy" and Colorado to find a decent coach to get that program back on the upswing. Not to mention, the idea of traveling to Salt Lake and Denver, which have a fair amount of high school football talent as well, is very enticing.

Whatever decision is made, the competition in each division will be stiff to say the least. I don't foresee a South dominance like what has happened in the Big 12 over time, and I also don't see an unbeatable monster in each division as well. The Pac-12 will only enhance an already fun and competitive conference, and next school year cannot come fast enough.