Pac-12 conference fallout has Oregon AD Rob Mullens "sad" as 14 years of "blood, sweat and tears" finally perish

Oregon Ducks athletic director Rod Mullens is sad that the Pac-12 is no more.

The Pac-12 conference saw several schools leave in conference realignment, as the conference only has Washington State and Oregon State left.

The Pac-12 was one of the main conferences that got decimated due to their media rights deal. AD Mullens said that it's sad, as he put a lot of "blood, sweat and tears" into the conference.

"Obviously having been here 14 years, I have a lot of blood, sweat and tears into the start of the (Pac-12) Network," Mullens said on The Bald Faced Truth.

"Obviously (I) spent a considerable time over the last few years to try to get a deal, to keep the Pac-12 together. It will be sad. I’ve had a lot of great colleagues, a lot of great memories. There will be an emotion of sadness as we close this chapter."

The Pac-12 no longer existing is no doubt sad news for college football fans, as it's becoming more of two super conferences, the Big Ten and the SEC.

Mullens ended up leading Oregon to join the Big Ten, and the Ducks will be a part of the Big Ten starting this college football season.

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Pac-12 conference fallout: Why did it end?

The main reason for the failure of the Pac-12 is the media rights deal falling apart.

Oregon and UCLA were the first two schools to leave the conference and join the Big Ten. While that was going on, the Big 12 agreed a media rights deal with ESPN, which made it no longer interested in the Pac-12 games.

After ESPN bowed out, commissioner George Kliavkoff struggled to find a media rights deal. He was in talks with Apple, but the other schools didn't like the revenue it was going to make and left the conference.

Kliavkoff could not secure a good deal for the Pac-12 and the schools. The schools could make more money in other difference conferences, which played a role in the conference's collapse.

Oregon State and Washington State are still Pac-12 members, and the conference has two years to try and add teams and keep itself alive.