College football realignment is in the air again after USC and UCLA decided to join the Big Ten in 2024, with all eyes now on where the next move could happen.
Including the Big 12, which reacted to losing powerhouses Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC by adding BYU, Houston, Cincinnati, and UCF.
In his first public remarks, incoming Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said his conference is exploring every possible option for realignment and expansion.
"We're open for business," Yormark told reporters at Big 12 Media Days.
"And optionality is good. And we're vetting through all of them. I think it's fair to say I've received a lot of phone calls, a lot of interest. We're exploring those levels of interest. Nothing is imminent."
After the latest bombshell in college football realignment, every conference is on guard both to add new members and to prevent any more from leaving.
The situation is chaotic, and it's hard to guess what will happen next.
"No one knows," Yormark said.
"But we are engaged in conversations daily with all the key stakeholders. And at the right time when something makes sense, we'll do it. Or not.
"Sometimes the best deals are the ones that you don't make, because we don't want to just do a deal for the sake of the deal. That's not my mindset, and obviously whatever we do needs to be additive and not diluted.
"But we're being proactive. We're not on our heels. We're engaged in meaningful conversation, and we'll see where it takes us."
The two conferences seen as the "losers" of the latest college football realignment have been in talks with each other in the recent past.
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.
Reports have indicated that the Big 12 has been in "deep discussions" with Pac-12 members, but for now it appears the realignment process has pressed pause.
That is, unless someone steps up with another big idea and enough money to make it happen.
"We will leave no stone unturned to drive value for the conference," Yormark said.
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