Pac-10 Football

Representing California, Arizona, Oregon and Washington, the Pac-10 conference is home to 10 NCAA football teams. In 1959, the Pacific Coast Conference disbanded. Later that summer, the Athletic Association of Western Universities, known as the "Big Five," was formed. It included the PCC schools: California, Stanford, UCLA, USC and Washington.

In 1962, Washington State joined the league and were soon followed by both Oregon and Oregon State in 1964, to form the Pacific-8 Conference. In 1978, both Arizona and Arizona State joined the league, now known as the Pac-10. The league champion represents the league as part of the Bowl Championship Series and, unless playing for the BCS National Championship, they are selected to play the Big Ten champion in the Rose Bowl. Until recently, the schedule called for each team to play eight conference opponents, skipping one team in rotation. However, in 2006, when the NCAA allowed for 12-game schedules, the league changed to a nine-game conference schedule, so that every team could face every other team within the league each season.

Since Pac-10 play began in 1916, all but one of the teams have won the conference title at least once. Arizona is this lone squad. USC has won the conference 38 times, and has won the national title, on six different occasions, the most recent in 2004. UCLA is second with 17 first place crowns, while California and Washington are next with 14 apiece. The Stanford Cardnial have 12 titles, and Oregon has eight. The Oregon State Beavers have four along with Washington State. Arizona State rounds out the pack with three titles. Now with former USC coach Pete Carroll gone, the race for the crown will be even more wide open this upcoming season. The Oregon Ducks won last season, and then were embarrassed in the Rose Bowl versus Ohio State, the Pac-10 stalwarts hope for a better effort this year from their representative to the bowl.

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