Cal football coach Justin Wilcox says 'sad' and 'shocking' Pac-12 defections could have been prevented

The Cal coach has deep ties to a conference that has now lost eight of its 12 member schools

Cal football coach Justin Wilcox lamented the mounting defections from the Pac-12 as the future becomes increasingly bleak for a conference which the Golden Bears were a charter member of in 1915. Oregon and Washington announced departures for the Big Ten on Friday before Arizona, Arizona State and Utah -- hours later -- announced intentions to leave for the Big 12.

The defections leave Cal as one of just four remaining Pac-12 schools, joined by Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State. Wilcox, who played for Oregon in the 1990s, described the mass exit of Pac-12 members as "sad" and "shocking" as a Power Five conference could be on the brink of collapse. 

"There's no denying the significance of this," Wilcox said. "This is as big a deal as it gets to be. Really kind of shocking. Personally, it's sad. ... From what I know, it probably didn't need to come to this, but things happened along the way and really unfortunate. So it's frustrating, there's some anger in there, but right now, what we're focused on is this season."

The shakeup has created uncertainty for Cal's conference affiliation moving forward. Sources told CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd on Monday that Cal, along with Bay Area rival Stanford, has shown interest in the ACC. The conference plans to evaluate the viability of the two West Coast schools this week. Cal and Stanford were previously reported as a potential Big Ten expansion targets before only Oregon and Washington received invitations.

"There's concern from everywhere [within the Cal athletic department], I get it," Wilcox added. "Right now, we don't have enough information to answer the questions we're getting."

Cal leadership, in a Friday statement, said the school is "not watching and waiting from the sidelines" in finding a path for its athletic department to continue competing at a high level. The Pac-12, in a separate statement, said it is focused on "securing the best possible future" for its four remaining members.

In total, the Pac-12 has lost eight members since June 30, 2022, when USC and UCLA announced intentions to leave the conference for the Big Ten. Colorado, on July 27, became the third school to defect when the Buffaloes announced a move back to the Big 12 before five more schools defected Friday. All moves go into effect ahead of the 2024-25 athletic season.