Utah is expected to join Pacific 10 Conference

The Utes are Commissioner Larry Scott's primary target to become the conference's 12th member, after Colorado joined last week. How a divisional split might work has not been announced.

June 16, 2010|By Mike Hiserman

The Pacific 10 Conference's Plan B appears set. Utah is expected to announce it will become the league's 12th member during a noon PDT news conference Thursday at Rice-Eccles Stadium on campus.

Utah received an official invitation to join the conference Wednesday.

Colorado announced last week it would become the conference's 11th member starting in the fall of 2012.

Pac-10 Commissioner Larry Scott was hoping to build the league up to 16 teams by adding Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State — that was Plan A. But those plans were scuttled this week when Texas, the leader of the group, decided to stay put in the Big 12.

Utah then became Scott's prime target as a 12th member, which would put the conference at the threshold of being large enough to meet the NCAA requirement for holding a lucrative football championship game. How the conference might split into divisions has not been announced.

Utah has been a member of the Mountain West Conference since 1999, and the Utes have fared well recently against Pac-10 competition.

Since 2003, Utah's football team is 7-3 against Pac-10 opponents — 2-0 versus California and Arizona and 1-1 against UCLA, Oregon and Oregon State.

The Utes have won nine consecutive bowl games, including last season's 37-27 victory over Cal in the Poinsettia Bowl.

mike.hiseman@latimes.com

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