Cal coach Justin Wilcox reacts to latest twists in conference realignment

Justin Wilcox is spending August preparing Cal's football team with the hopes of improving on a 4-8 record when his team takes the field next month. So, what conference the Bears will be playing in once 2024 rolls around is not exactly at the forefront of his mind two weeks into training camp.

Still, the seventh-year Cal head coach knows he can't completely ignore the obvious transition his school and program are going through amid recent conference realignment moves. There are just four schools remaining in what was the 12-member Pac-12 Conference up until last year when USC and UCLA decided to bolt for the Big Ten.

Since then there has been uncertainty about the future of the conference. The league received another blow when Colorado opted to announce its plans for a move to the Big 12 late last month setting off a chain reaction that ultimately led Arizona, Arizona State and Utah to follow the Buffaloes while Oregon and Washington decided to join the Los Angeles schools in the Big Ten.

When news of the latest wave of Pac-12 departures recently became a reality, Wilcox used "shocking" and "sad" as two words to describe his feelings as someone who has been part of the conference in one way or another for many years.

Sunday, when asked by Golden Bear Report about the ongoing uncertainty, the Cal head coach said he continues to feel strongly about the importance of the matter at hand as the Bears seek out a resolution to the situation.

"I pay attention to it because it's extremely important," he said. "We can go down the rabbit hole again on how this shouldn't have happened, but we are where we are. And, now, it's finding the best step forward for Cal football, and I know there's a lot of people working on that. Our goal is obvious that we want to play and compete at the highest level.

"So, when there's news to report, I'm sure it will be reported to me. But, in the meantime, I receive information probably a lot like you do."

Earlier this week, it looked like the Atlantic Coast Conference could provide a solution with Notre Dame reportedly pushing hardest for both Cal and Stanford to be added to the 15-member league — of which the Irish is not a football member.

However, entering the weekend, that path to remain in a Power Five league beyond 2023 hit a snag for Cal. Sports Illustrated reported Friday that a move to add both Bay Area schools to the conference would come up one vote shy of the 12 needed to push Cal and Stanford through. According to that report, Florida State, Clemson, North Carolina and North Carolina State are the four schools opposed to expanding the ACC to include the West Coast schools.

"I don't know if anything surprises me anymore with how all of this has gone down," Wilcox said Sunday when asked about the reports. "Maybe I used the term that I was shocked last time, but that's probably not a good term. Nothing really surprises me anymore. I think people are understanding what this really all comes down to, and what's truly driving these decisions. And, it's important that everybody recognizes what is driving the decisions.

"I'm not surprised. I don't know what's true and what isn't true. I'm not in those meetings. Again, I try to spend all my time on this (practice). To say that I don't read it or I don't pay attention to it, that's not true. I do because it's really important."

Some of the latest reports have pointed toward the American Athletic Conference and a possible merger with the remaining Pac-12 schools, which also includes Oregon State and Washington State, as being the next potential option for Cal and Stanford.

For now, Wilcox remains focused on getting his team to the start of the current season and its opener against North Texas on Sept. 2 over worrying too much about where his team will be once next year rolls around.