Picking a school as a recruit is an extremely hard decision. But it's also an extremely important decision as it determines where you will be for the next four years. There are many things that should influence your decision including campus location, athletic facilities, academic resources, tuition (if not on scholarship), and the coach or program that you plan to play for. All schools in the Pac-12 conference are great options to consider, but there are five that stand out more than the others.
1: University of California, Los Angeles
UCLA tops the list of Pac-12 universities for several reasons. First, they have had consistent success throughout all of their sports programs and their campus is located in one of the best places for a student-athlete from a business perspective. Being located in Los Angeles, athletes will have more access to the major players in NIL deals. They also have great athletic facilities–for instance, their basketball arena is ranked #1 among all Pac-12 schools. Academic resources at UCLA are proven to be great as well with their graduation rate being ranked high within their conference. However, one problem with attending UCLA is that their tuition is much higher than most of the other schools in the Pac-12.
2: The University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is growing as a school in terms of what they provide to their student-athletes. They have some of the best facilities among all schools in the Pac-12 with the McKale Center being ranked #2 among basketball arenas in the PAC-12 and have done a lot of work to get new coaches in Tommy Lloyd and Jedd Fisch that have created winning environments throughout their sports. One of the best aspects of being a student-athlete at the University of Arizona is that Tucson does not have a professional sports team, making university sports the main attraction in town. This also gives athletes more opportunities to get endorsements from local companies since there are no other athletes competing for these deals.
3: Stanford
It should not come as a surprise that Stanford ranks high on this list. They have one of the best college campuses in the country and that extends to their sports facilities such as their football stadium that was recently renovated in 2006. Located in Silicon Valley, there are many opportunities to network as a student-athlete and get NIL deals while attending school. Although Stanford is known for their academic prestige, they also have some of the best sports programs in the Pac-12, especially when it comes to their men's basketball program led by head coach Jerod Haase who has great reviews on the 2aDays website. The one major setback for Stanford is that their tuition is the second highest among all Pac-12 schools, which may cause problems for athletes not on scholarship.
4: University of Southern California
Like UCLA, USC is also located in Los Angeles but USC has fewer connections than UCLA. Even so, the city of L.A. still offers athletes opportunities to network with all the major companies in the area. Since USC has a lot of money as a university, they have amazing athletic facilities as well. Their football team plays in the Coliseum, the biggest and most famous stadium among Pac-12 schools, and also just built the John McKay training facility.In recent history USC has also had a lot of success with their sports teams. USC's biggest problem is that their tuition is highest in the Pac-12 conference.
5: University of Washington
The University of Washington may come as a surprise on this list due to their lack of program success, but they provide their student-athletes with a lot of resources and amenities. Their campus is located in Seattle, which is a big city with a lot of opportunities for networking. One great thing about the University of Washington is that they have an affordable tuition for their athletes not on scholarship. One thing that the University of Washington excels at is providing academic support, which is apparent due to their high graduation rate of 66%. The biggest problem that the University of Washington has is their lack of recent success in their sports programs.
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* Originally published on April 6, 2022, by Royce Linder
