re: Bookmark : Stanford, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan St, and Minnesota fear SEC venues?

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how much closer was this conference to the death penalty than the SWC in the 80s?

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The PCC scandal started in the late 1940's and continued till the conference disbanded in 1957 although the official death certificate was not entered until 1959. First light was cast on Washington and Oregon. Once the NCAA started handing out sanctions, they rolled over on UCLA. While UCLA was stalling with the NCAA they rolled over on Southern Cal and Cal by outing the SCEF and the SFGC. By that time the PCC had become the tar baby of the NCAA and everybody was looking at several years of TV bans and postseason bans, so they disbanded the conference.

Since the PCC was dissolved it meant the Rose Bowl was no longer bound by contract to the PCC. Needless to say this was not good for TV, advertisers, or the B1G as the west half of the deal no longer existed. To avoid the quickly escalating crisis the AAWU was formed at the beginning of the fiscal year - July 1st, 1959 - so they could save the 1959 season that culminated in the 1960 Rose Bowl. I think Washington got in that year's Rose Bowl which negated the NCAA sanctions and post season's ban.

Of the AAWU - or initial Big 5 - 4 of the 5 schools were the ones causing the PCC to disband (Southern Cal, UCLA, Cal, and Washington) and Idaho was not included even tho they had no proven part in the PCC scandal. If this had not been a lucrative demographic with a valuable Bowl property it would have made the SWC look like amateur hour. To put it in perspective, say the Big 12 before realignment (swap Hogs for Iowa State) was the SWC and the conference owned 1/2 interest in the Cotton bowl. Do you think they would give the death penalty to Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, and Arkansas all in the same year?