Justin Wilcox on Pac-12 breakup: 'There's some anger in there'
Justin Wilcox met with reporters on Sunday following fall camp practice for his Cal Golden Bears and immediately faced questions about the mass exodus of schools from the Pac-12 over the weekend.
Oregon and Washington will follow USC and UCLA to the Big Ten in 2024. Arizona, Arizona State, Utah, and Colorado will join the Big 12 the same year. Arizona president Robert Robbins said at a news conference on Monday that Arizona was prepared to sign a Grant of Rights to remain in the Pac-12 Friday morning, but pulled out last minute when told of Oregon and UW’s plans.
Things fell apart in spectacular fashion for commissioner George Kliavkoff, who is now left with just four schools — Cal, Stanford, Washington State, and Oregon State.
“There’s no denying the significance of this,” Wilcox said Sunday. “This is as big a deal as it gets to be. This is really kind of shocking. Personally, it’s sad. I grew up around the Pac-10, Pac-12 conference watching it. Fortunate enough to be a part of it. Coached in it for a long time. It’s really sad. From what I know, it probably didn’t need to come to this, but things happened along the way and (it’s) really unfortunate. Really unfortunate.
“It’s frustrating. There’s some anger in there. But, right now, what we’re focused on is this season and there’s still a lot to be determined for us, the conference moving forward.”
Wilcox played defensive back at Oregon. Several family members did the same, including his father, Dave Wilcox, who went on to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Justin Wilcox served as defensive coordinator at both Washington and USC. He was courted by Oregon to be the head coach before the school hired Dan Lanning. This fall, he’ll enter his seventh season as Cal’s head coach.
And he has never been faced with more uncertainty.
“There’s concern from everywhere, I get it,” he said. “Right now, we don’t have enough information to answer the questions we’re getting.”
Cal leadership said in a statement last Friday the school is “not watching and waiting from the sidelines” in charting a way forward. The Pac-12 said in a separate statement it is focused on “securing the best possible future” for its four remaining members.
Wilcox isn’t the first coach from a left-behind school to express his disappointment with the departures. Washington State’s Jake Dickert took aim at TV networks last week for destroying college football.
It remains to be seen where the remaining four will end up.