Throughout the season when Cal head coach Justin Wilcox was asked about conference realignment and the Bears move to the ACC, he opted to take the high road and focus on the positives. It was clear he was irked by the downfall of the Pac-12, a conference he has been part of or connected to in one way or another seemingly his entire life.
He continued to say that he would eventually provide his thoughts on the demise of the West Coast's power conference. Tuesday, Wilcox spent nearly an hour with reporters reflecting on the hectic summer and the eventual decision by Cal to join a conference based clear across the country.
For Justin Wilcox, college football is "not done changing"
Wilcox has made it abundantly clear, several times, that he is happy the Bears will remain in a power conference and is eager about the move to the ACC. He and his team are excited to see some new venues and face a different type of opponent than what they have come to know.
The Cal head coach, who is entering his eighth season at the helm in Berkeley, expressed plenty of disappointment when the conference began losing longtime members in the summer.
He understands the game of college football is changing, but he also knows it could have been a much different story.
"It feels kind of shameful that it went down like that," he said. "From what I know, it probably didn't need to happen. I think, either unknowingly or folks who lack humility, that were making decisions the last 10 years — leadership roles. I said lack of humility or maybe the self awareness to say, 'there might be another avenue we need to explore, or maybe we should listen to some of these other people.'
