In a thrilling 1-0 contest, Texas softball eliminated Stanford in the Women’s College World Series semifinals, thus marking the end of the Pac-12 as we know it in the sport given the immense changes coming this fall.
Stanford fought to the bitter end, holding a 0-0 with Texas through six whole innings. The Longhorns were able to get a run past home plate in the top of the ninth and the Cardinal just couldn’t muster anything in the ninth to get shutout to end the season after being the last-standing Pac-12 squad.
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In summer sports like baseball and softball, the Pac-12 thrives. In many ways, it’s sad to see it go, even for the team that beat Stanford. After the win, Texas head coach Mike White reflected on the final softball game for the current Pac-12.
“It’s very sad,” he commented. “We all don’t know how it’s going to turn out in the future, what’s going to happen, how it’s going to play out because of — you know, it was a money move, just for TV and everything. I’m just sad to see that conference fold.”
The forlorn White continued, noting his own past with the league. He was an assistant and then later the head coach at Oregon for eight years before coming to Texas, including a stretch winning five of six Pac-12 titles.
“I wish they could have stayed together because that’s the conference I started out in. Great rivalries, coaches. Even the umpires. They’re all looking for jobs now from the Pac-12. There’s a lot of carryover through that.”
Sure, White believes all those folks will turn out alright in their various directions, but it’s sad for him to see the whole conference just splinter out. He’s just concerned about what the changes could bring.
“I’m sure things will level out. We just got to work through it and see what happens, do the best we can with it. There’s going to be a lot more travel for some of these kids. We have to figure out whether that’s good for their health, not good for their mental health. Just work through it.”
When it comes to Mike White’s own program, Texas is a future SEC team who faces the winner of the other semifinal game featuring another future SEC team in Oklahoma as well as a current SEC team in Florida. For most college sports programs, including a powerhouse like the Longhorns, 2024 is going to be a whole new world with the conference shakeups.
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