When you think of the most successful teams in college sports, especially college football, what do they all have in common? The answer is very simple: they are all in a Power 5 conference. In NCAA football history, there has yet to be a team outside of the Pac-12, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC that has won a National Championship.  

Since Willie Fritz became head coach in 2016, and now under Jon Sumrall’s leadership, Tulane football has landed on the map, winning a division championship and defeating No. 10 seed USC in the Cotton Bowl. As the success keeps growing, so do the facilities and star-caliber players that are coming to play football for the Green Wave. Grabbing both Mario Williams,a four-star wide receiver transfer from the University of Southern California, and Ty Thompson, a four-star quarterback from University of Oregon, Tulane football has started to become a real contender for the playoffs. In my opinion, the one thing missing for Tulane is going to a conference that will give more respect to the program and continue bringing strong recruits to New Orleans. 

That perfect conference is none other than the Pac-12, otherwise known as the “Conference of Champions,” which just invited Tulane to join for both football and basketball. The Pac-12 just lost most of their teams to other conferences, so I believe Tulane joining this newly “reformed” conference would be nothing but beneficial for both our basketball and football programs. Attending a conference such as the Pac-12 will ultimately increase status, funding and overall success. If Tulane and the other teams offered a spot in the Pac-12 all accepted the offer, it would be way more competitive and put Tulane on the map even more than it already is.  

Why did we decline and stay in the American Athletic Conference? Financial problems is definitely a justifiable reason, but taking the risk and joining a conference as storied as the Pac-12 is something that I believe Tulane should have capitalized on while it had the chance.