The new 'Conference of Champions'
The Pac-12 has long been the "Conference of Champions." Which conference will wear that crown once the "Power Four" era begins in 2024?
The Pac-12 has long been known as the "Conference of Champions" for its title-winning ways. But as those schools disperse next year amid landscape-altering realignment, a new league will ascend the throne.
Currently, the Pac-12 has 55% more team championships* than the Big Ten in second place, and at least twice as many as each of the other three "Power Five" conferences.
Pac-12: 569 team championships
Big Ten: 367 team championships
SEC: 286 team championships
Big 12: 243 team championships
ACC: 201 team championships
Next year, 10 of the Pac-12's dozen schools will depart, bringing the 108-year-old league to an abrupt halt. The result will be a "Power Four" led by the Big Ten as the new "Conference of Champions."
Big Ten (654 team championships): The richest conference in America will now be the winningest thanks largely to the arrival of UCLA (122 titles, second-most) and USC (121, third-most). Oregon (34) and Washington (10) are also coming from the Pac-12, bringing 44 team titles of their own.
SEC (389): Big 12 stalwarts Texas and Oklahoma are set to join, bringing 103 trophies with them. No SEC team has more team championships than the Longhorns (60) and only Arkansas (51), LSU (45) and Florida (45) have more than the Sooners (43).
ACC (381): The Atlantic Coast Conference jumps out of last place thanks to the addition of Stanford (135, most of any school) and Cal (45, 10th-most), which definitely aren't on the Atlantic Coast. They're also adding SMU, but the Mustangs have zero team championships.
Big 12 (236): Colorado (28), Arizona (19), Arizona State (24) and Utah (25) are making the move from the Pac-12, bringing 96 team championships — not quite enough to make up for the loss of Texas and Oklahoma.
While the Pac-12's "Conference of Champions" days are ending, the league could survive beyond this year — at least in name. Oregon State and Washington State, the only Pac-12 schools without a new home, are considering a merger with the Mountain West whereby they retain the Pac-12 brand.
*The tally is based on NCAA team championships in 39 men’s and women’s sports, as well as football championships, which have been bestowed by various non-NCAA organizations dating back to 1869. It does not include individual championships.
