Five teams have played in bowl games with 5-7 regular season records since 2015 thanks to high Academic Progress Ratings (APR) scores, but none have been from the Pac-12. The conference won't be sending any in the future, either.
According to the Associated Press, the presidents of the conference passed a rule that prevents teams with 5-7 records from going to bowl games even if their APR score would qualify them under the new legislation.
Since 2015, when the expanding bowl lineup forced a change in NCAA rules to allow five-win teams to accept bowl invitations if there aren't enough bowl-eligible teams to fill bowl slots, five teams with 5-7 records played in the postseason.
| Season | 5-7 Team | Bowl | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
2015 | Cure Bowl | W | |
2015 | Foster Farms Bowl | W | |
2015 | Quick Lane Bowl | W | |
2016 | St. Petersburg Bowl | W | |
2016 | Heart of Dallas Bowl | L (OT) |
While the Pac-12 hasn't sent a 5-7 team to a bowl game since APR scores were put into the equation, it has sent a sub-.500 team.
UCLA finished the regular season 6-6 after 50-0 blowout at the hands of rival USC. But the Trojans weren't eligible for a bowl due to NCAA sanctions, and the Bruins' 5-4 conference record earned them a spot in the inaugural Pac-12 Championship Game. They lost Oregon 49-31 to finish at 6-7, but got a waiver from the NCAA prior to losing the Pac-12 Championship Game that allowed them to participate in a bowl game even with a loss.
The Bruins fell 2014 to Illinois in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl to finish 6-8.
