by Bailey Brautigan

The Pac-10 is continuing its quest to form a super-conference no matter how many roadblocks it may encounter along the way. After being turned down by Big 12 powerhouses Texas and Oklahoma (as well as Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State), the Pac-10 is looking to add a twelfth (Colorado made number 11) team in order to hold a football championship game.

Although this move is not yet official, a decision is said to be made as soon as Friday, June 18^th. But is adding Utah a good decision? Or is the Pac-10 simply looking to fill a gap?

While Utah may not be recognized nationally as a “powerhouse,” the school certainly could bring many benefits to the Pac-10 conference, including increased TV audience. Salt Lake City has the 31^st largest television market in the United States, and adding Utah would absolutely help the Pac-10 in gaining more viewers.

In addition to a larger television audience, Utah also brings some talent. Utah is undoubtedly one of the best programs in the Mountain West Conference, completing an undefeated season in 2008 and defeating SEC giant Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. In fact, Utah is second only to Boise State as a premier non-BCS program.

Geographically speaking, the addition of Colorado and Utah makes much more sense than adding schools such as Texas and Oklahoma. In all reality, the close proximity of these new conference members could (and probably will) result in a new rivalry between the Buffaloes and the Utes, which would also bring more interest to the Pac-10 conference. Simply adding Colorado was sort of an anticlimactic moment for the conference, but paired with Utah, the deal seems much sweeter.

While being turned down by Texas and the other Big 12 teams may have disappointed Pac-10 fans, the conference will survive and perhaps thrive with this new realignment. Utah will have a shot to show the country what their made of, and the Pac-10 will get their championship. This may not have been the Pac-10’s first choice, but in this situation, everybody wins.