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Then, the company all but collapses, hoses you in the process, and leaves you earning $40K annually. If your salary doubled a few years later, would you be feeling grateful for the raise, or longing for the glory days?

I imagine Washington State and Oregon State football fans are asking similar questions regarding their feelings on the new-look Pac-12. A few years ago, the Cougs and Beavers were competing — and often holding their own — in one of the nation's five power conferences. A Rose Bowl berth might have been a longshot for each of these two schools, but it wasn't exactly a pipe dream.

However, when UCLA and USC opted to leave for the Big Ten — prompting Washington and Oregon to do the same thing a year later — Washington State and Oregon State eventually became the sole tenants of a home stripped of its fine art and luxury decor. Since then they've spruced the place up … but how excited are you for the housewarming?

On Monday the renovated Pac-12 welcomed Texas State as the eighth all-sports member of the conference. The Bobcats join Washington State, Oregon State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Utah State, Boise State and Colorado State as schools that will compete on the football field and everywhere else in 2026.

The University of Nevada is not one of the new members, but this league does have a Reno-type feel: The Biggest Little Conference in the Country.

I suppose in some ways it's been nice watching the Pac-12 reshape its identity. It wasn't long ago that Washington State and Oregon State were completely unsure of their futures. Now they have six other schools they can schedule against each year (well, seven if the Apple Cup and Civil War continue for the foreseeable future). And not all of these programs are short on history.

Boise State finished eighth in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll last season and was a mainstay in the Top 25 for years — three times cracking the top five. Fresno State has found its way into the Top 25 at some point in eight of the past 20 seasons. San Diego State finished 19th in the country four years ago (and its men's basketball team reached the NCAA final in 2023).

Still, when most of your opponents come from mid-majors, you can inflate your ranking based on one or two standout performances each year. That kid who dreams of suiting up against USC or Oregon or any of the heralded teams of the Pac-12 of yesteryear isn't signing on to play in this new conference if he has options.

Texas State is a nice addition based on the fact that it's any addition at all. But I'm not sure the ceiling is happy" if you're a hardcore WSU fan. The ceiling might simply be "happy-ish.

One potential positive is that, with the College Football Playoff field expanded to 12 teams, the Pac-12 winner could find itself in the tournament regardless of where it's ranked nationally. It's probably easier for the Cougs or Beavers to win this conference than it would be to make the postseason as an at-large in the old Pac-12 or current Big Ten.

Of course, as schools such as SMU and Boise State showed last year, getting into the playoff is a lot different from showing you belong — as both teams got crushed in their opening games. But I suppose you never know what can happen … and that mystery could be quite the allure for Pac-12 fans in late November.

Even so, it's undeniable how much the college football landscape has changed, and many will tell you it's for the worse. TV ratings squash the idea that it's turned off the nation as a whole, but supporters of the leftover schools such as Washington State and Oregon State are struggling to navigate this new world.

Credit the Pac-12 for dusting itself and getting back on the horse. Beats going out to pasture. But as much as adding a new school bolsters the new-look conference, it can't help but make one long for the old one.