Independent congressional hopeful Eric J. Troutman uses a “Bring Back the Pac-12” issue to show a lighter, fan-friendly side of his CA-47 campaign, even as he runs on serious issues like robocalls, partisanship and small-business pressure.
The Pac-12 push echoes Troutman’s earlier Thanksgiving forgiveness message calling for unity in CA-47, where he urged voters to “forgive each other” even in a heated race.
“Bring Back The Pac-12” Becomes Campaign Talking Point
In a new release distributed through ACCESS Newswire, Troutman – the powerful litigator known as “the Czar” – says he will “look into” restoring traditional college football conference alignments if elected to Congress. He argues that politics should not wipe out long-standing West Coast rivalries.
“Look the country has a number of major problems right now. The political parties have let everyone down in a terrible way,” Troutman says. “But we shouldn’t lose track of our important college sports traditions. Let’s bring back the Pac-12 and stop all the money nonsense in college sports.”
The message taps into frustration many fans feel after recent conference realignments sent California schools across the country for league games and left the old Pac-12 brand in limbo.
Serious “Czar” Brand, Down-to-earth Topic
Away from the football talk, industry circles know Troutman as a telecom and privacy lawyer. Industry circles follow his analysis on TCPAWorld.com and similar platforms, where he built a hard-edged “Czar” reputation through high-stakes robocall and compliance cases. He is now running in California’s 47th Congressional District on a platform that includes ending illegal robocalls, reducing partisan gridlock and defending families and small businesses.
In the Pac-12 release, he uses that established brand to have a little fun with a very different topic. In an accompanying YouTube video, he calls “Bowl Season” his favorite time of year and jokes about how far his alma mater now has to travel after realignment.
“You’ve got my beautiful team – Cal, the greatest university in America – they have to travel all the way now to the East Coast because they’re part of the ACC,” Troutman says. “That’s the Atlantic Coast Conference but we’re on the Pacific Coast. That’s crazy.”
He tells viewers that if they elect him, he will “try to get the Pac-12 back together, get this conference realignment thing tossed and maybe have some kind of federal law that helps to keep our college football traditions alive and well.”
Video: Eric J. Troutman says “Voting for Troutman is voting to bring back the Pac-12” in a campaign short aimed at college sports fans.
Fans Respond to Pac-12 Pitch
Troutman’s “Bring Back the Pac-12” push already circulates on social media, including a short clip branded, “Voting for Troutman is voting to bring back the Pac-12.”
Online commenters quoted in the release say college sports “used to unite communities around shared traditions rather than corporate interests” and praise regional rivalries like the old Pac-12 as “authentic connections worth preserving.” One YouTube viewer’s simple response – “Agree! Go Bears!!!” – underlines how emotional the issue remains for some West Coast fans.
By highlighting those reactions, Troutman’s campaign presents the Pac-12 plank as proof that a candidate best known for complex telecom enforcement can still talk like a fan and focus on everyday frustrations about money, travel and tradition in college sports.
College Sports Money, Travel and Washington
The Pac-12 Conference went through a turbulent stretch. After a wave of moves to the Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC, the league fell to just two remaining full members before announcing plans for a rebuilt lineup starting in 2026.
At the same time, major conferences negotiated richer media deals. The ACC, which Cal and Stanford joined for the 2024–25 season, now distributes tens of millions of dollars a year per school, while still trailing the Big Ten and SEC in average payouts.
Troutman argues that those financial and broadcast calculations have gone too far. His Pac-12 message echoes a broader campaign theme that voters should not have to accept decisions driven purely by TV money and party interests.
He develops that theme on his political blog, America Deserves to Win, where he argues that fans and voters shouldn’t have to accept decisions driven solely by party machines and big broadcasters.
Levity and a Fan-friendly Issue in CA-47
Troutman’s district stretches across parts of coastal Orange County, an area with deep ties to West Coast college sports. His campaign says the Pac-12 plank gives voters a different entry point into his broader agenda: a serious lawyer with a reputation for chasing robocallers who is also willing to spend time talking about rivalries, bowl games and long-haul road trips.
“Bring Back the Pac-12” will not decide the 2026 race on its own. But as the CA-47 campaign ramps up, Troutman is betting that a mix of heavy issues and fan-friendly levity can help him stand out – and that a call to Bring Back the Pac-12 will stick with voters long after the bowl games end.
