When Utah was invited to the PAC 10 the conference was coming off an incredible run with USC, they had national clout, awards, cool rivalries, and some prestige. Utah definitely didn't consistently compete.

Fast forward a decade, the conference has declined outside a couple years at Oregon. Bad TV deals, notoriously questionable officiating, social justice warrior schools with apathetic fanbases are what the conference has become.

When schools like Utah and WSU are among the strongest and the USC's are getting beat by BYU it's obvious the conference as a whole has declined.