Graney: Pac-12 basketball funeral leaves opening for Mountain West

It will, like with all comings and goings (mostly goings) of this once proud conference, be buried following Saturday night’s tournament final.

The Pac-12 will cease to exist as a basketball league. Last rites are just a few days off.

Only those who earn an NCAA Tournament or other postseason berth will carry the Pac-12 flag a little while longer. This, a league that began in 1915 under the moniker Pacific Coast Conference. It has been a minute for sure.

But most of its teams will scatter to different Power Five leagues beginning next year, from the Big Ten to the Big 12 to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The holdovers that are Washington State and Oregon State will shoot 3-pointers in the West Coast Conference, at least for the next few years.

You couldn’t find many happy fans at T-Mobile Arena about any of it when the men’s tournament commenced Wednesday, most upset at their favorite teams changing conferences and this event departing Las Vegas.

“It’s about tradition,” Arizona fan Roger Zoellner said. “Next year, when (Arizona is in the Big 12), it will be the Kansas Invitational in Kansas City.”

Mountain West move?

Crazy. The Pac-12’s loss could be another’s gain.

The Mountain West still holds its conference tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of UNLV. Still doesn’t have a neutral site for its most important basketball games to be played annually.

It’s true the tournament needs to be in Las Vegas. The league held its event in Denver from 2004 to ’06, and the interest wasn’t near what the Thomas & Mack has produced over the years. Sort of a disaster, really.

Southern Nevada was the place. Is the place. It has been now for 22 such tournaments.

But with the fall of the Pac-12, T-Mobile Arena would likely have an opening during tournament time come each March.

The Mountain West contract with the Thomas & Mack expires this year, and even if reports are true that the two entities have agreed on a one-year extension for 2025, it’s essential the conference strongly pursues T-Mobile Arena as a future host.

Yes. It’s not as if UNLV has dominated the event. Hardly. The Rebels haven’t won a conference tournament since 2008. They haven’t been to the NCAAs since 2013.

But none of that should preclude the league from seeking a neutral site. An 8-year-old fancy venue such as T-Mobile Arena would immediately raise the conference’s profile.

For this, it’s not just about the fairness aspect. UNLV would also benefit from a metrics standpoint, given tournament matchups on its own court count as home games.

”Vegas on their home floor is what it is,” San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said. “We’ve been doing this so long at the Thomas & Mack. I’m sure if Vegas had won it 10 times, it wouldn’t be there. For head coaches and teams, it’s not ideal. I think there’s a good chance it changes down the road with the Pac-12 leaving T-Mobile.”

A rich history

For now, the Conference of Champions prepares for its basketball funeral.

Such history with Pac-12 hoops. The dynasty of UCLA and John Wooden. The 15 overall national titles. The great Arizona teams. The players. Alcindor. Walton. Reggie Miller. Sean Elliott. Gary Payton. On and on. The absolute best in so many ways.

Just not all of them.

“This is the worst thing ever,” said one Seattle-based Washington fan. “We’ve been coming to the tournament for about 15 years. And just the loss of the Pac-12. It’s too bad.”

Strange. The longtime rivals that are Stanford and California tipped off shortly after 6 p.m. Wednesday.

This time next year, they will be competing at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, as members of the ACC.

Long way from T-Mobile Arena.

Really long way from the Pac-12.

Dead and buried is right.

Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on X.