[Redrum]

This:

"let's be honest: college football in the south is just about THE most important culturally uniting force. There is nothing out west that's in any way comparable. As long as that fan passion can be monetized, I just don't think the PAC-12 is ever going to be on a level playing field to the SEC or the BIG 10. (And again note the absence of the Big 12 and ACC as comparator data points: I suspect those conferences suffer from problems more similar to ours.)"

Yup.  I live in SEC country. In the P12 only USC has a fan focus/critical mass and "footprint" that approaches the SEC schools. Even so, USC wouldn't particularly stand out in the SEC.  I married into a Bama family so I don't have much choice but I'm OK with the P12 not being the SEC-West.

[Redrum]

This:

"let's be honest: college football in the south is just about THE most important culturally uniting force. There is nothing out west that's in any way comparable. As long as that fan passion can be monetized, I just don't think the PAC-12 is ever going to be on a level playing field to the SEC or the BIG 10. (And again note the absence of the Big 12 and ACC as comparator data points: I suspect those conferences suffer from problems more similar to ours.)"

Yup.  I live in SEC country. In the P12 only USC has a fan focus/critical mass and "footprint" that approaches the SEC schools. Even so, USC wouldn't particularly stand out in the SEC.  I married into a Bama family so I don't have much choice but I'm OK with the P12 not being the SEC-West.