In most states the P-5 representative is part of the largest school system in the state and/or and or is often the largest university in the state. Neither of these statements is true in California.

The Cal State System has total full time undergraduate residents of 349,088 The Cal State System is the largest University system in the country and has no P5 representation

The UC System has total undergraduate residents of 175,492. Cal has 22,158 Resident students, UCLA has 23,834 Resident students. 5 Cal State Schools have larger resident undergraduate enrollments than either of the Pac-12 UC schools. ( Cal and UCLA have a relatively small percentage of CA residents enrolled:~ 75 percent)

* If Cal were in the SEC only Mississippi St and Vanderbilt appear to have smaller enrollments

* If Cal were in the Big 10 only Nebraska and Northwestern appear to have smaller enrollments

* Even in the Pac, Stanford and USC are the lowest enrollment then Cal and UCLA appear to be the lowest with Oregon State.

While you can make an argument about density in many states. A large density argument can be made in in CA. With a population of 23.67 million in 1980, CA residents could get into the Pac-12 schools. Now with a 39.2 million population level and an international admission rate that has risen from 2% to 12%, Pac-12 schools have chosen to increase their exclusivity instead of their enrollment.

On Cal

Before 1960, 15 percent of California's high school graduates were eligible to attend the school, and until 1964, the school admitted anyone who met its requirements.

By the early 80s, the school was denying nearly half of its applicants, and by the end of that decade, it was denying almost two thirds of those who applied.

In 2016 the admit rate of the University of California was 17.5% and many of those were out of state students.

This declining ability to get into the Pac-12 UC's is not unnoticed by California residents and impacts the support of the school and the Pac-12 conference by California residents. Even graduates of the UC's whose kids are forced to go elsewhere see declining interest. Unless the Pac-12 fixes it California problem it will continue to grow increasingly irrelevant in the world of major college sports.