Tuesday, September 13, 2016

The Pac-10 is now the Pac-12

In the USA, collegiate sports are a big deal.  Many people go from collegiate athletics to professional athletics.  Collegiate sports is not something that exists in Europe.

The governing body for American collegiate sports is the NCAA - National Collegiate Athletic Association.  Schools are broken down in to different divisions and based on skills and geography.  Division I is the highest level.

Having grown up in California we had the Pac-10 Conference which was made up of the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, University of California - Berkeley, University of California - Los Angeles, University of Oregon, Oregon State University, University of Southern California, Stanford University, University of Washington, and Washington State University.

I've been living in Czechland so long that I didn't know that the Pac-10 is now the Pac-12.  In 2011, the University of Utah and the University of Colorado - Boulder joined the conference.  Pretty bad for a California boy to not know that the conference expanded.

Then again, I moved to Atlanta and lived there for 13 years before moving here.  So while I grew up in California, I would say that the South was home.  Well that is prior to moving here.  But that requires explaining my permanent address which is a story for another time.

In the South, we have the SEC which is the Southeastern Conference.  The SEC is a powerhouse for collegiate athletics.  The schools making up the SEC are the University of Florida, University of Georgia, University of Kentucky, University of Missouri, University of South Carolina, University of Tennessee, Vanderbilt University, University of Alabama, University of Arkansas, Auburn University, Louisiana State University, University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, and Texas A&M University.

In the South you cheer for an SEC school and the rivalries between the various schools is quite fierce.  I graduated from Georgia State University which is well known for academics and less so for athletics.  GSU belongs to the Sun Belt Conference which also includes Appalachian State University, Arkansas State University, Coastal Carolina University, Georgia Southern University, University of Arkansas - Little Rock, University of Louisiana - Lafayette, University of Louisiana - Monroe, University of South Alabama, Texas State University, University of Texas - Arlington, and Troy University. 

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