Finally thriving in its dying season, was Pac-12's demise simply bad timing?

By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports: In the spring of 2022, as the Big Ten approached USC and UCLA about possibly leaving their historic Pac-12 home and joining the Midwest-based league, economic concerns were everywhere.

The Big Ten was looking at a multi-billion dollar media rights deal. The Pac-12, meanwhile, was headed toward negotiations with a limping football product.