The next phase of college football realignment could involve a host of Pac-12 teams making a run for the Big 12, according to a new report.
Power brokers from the Big 12 are in "deep discussions" with six Pac-12 schools — Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Utah, Oregon, and Washington — about joining the new-look Big 12, CBS Sports reports.
The Big 12 is already scheduled to expand to 12 members by the 2023 college football season after announcing it would add BYU, Houston, Cincinnati, and UCF.
That move came after the league lost football powerhouses Texas and Oklahoma, who announced they will join the SEC, likely in 2025.
USC and UCLA caused another seismic shift when they revealed their intention to join the Big Ten Conference in 2024, a move that suddenly threatens the very existence of the Pac-12 as we have known it.
Now, the Big 12 could be next to poach the West Coast conference, eager to expand its own TV market and ease some travel load on incoming member BYU.
“Adding at least those four schools would extend the Big 12 further into the Mountain Time Zone, creating 'travel partners' for incoming member BYU while also adding a rival for the Cougars in the Utes,” the CBS report noted.
“The Arizona schools are two hours apart and feature Phoenix as a major market acquisition for the conference.”
This isn't the first time the two conferences have been connected to the recent wave of college football realignment.
Back after Texas and OU announced their intent to leave, then Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby proposed his league merge with the Pac-12.
That idea was shot down at the time by the Pac-12, which thought it had USC and UCLA in its future plans. Now that those blue-chip properties are on the move, the Pac-12 might be more open to a merger
That is, unless the Big 12 thinks it can get what it wants without one.
(h/t CBS Sports)
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