The Big 12 could add four teams from the Pac-12 with the conference still reeling from the departures of UCLA and USC to the Big Ten last week.
College football was hit with a bombshell when it was reported that two of the sport’s biggest West Coast programs had come to terms on an agreement to join the Big Ten starting in 2024. The move was a shocking development, especially since it was the schools that pushed for the switch and not the conference.
With the Pac-12 in a weak position after losing two of its most important brands, it seems a rival conference in a similar position may swoop in to steal away more universities from the ailing league.
Big 12 could steal away Arizona, Utah, Arizona State, Colorado from PAC 12
In October, the Big 12 was shaken to its foundation when two of its marquee programs in Texas and Oklahoma left for the powerhouse SEC conference. In a quest to refortify the conference, CBS Sports reported on Tuesday that the Big 12 is in discussions to add at least four universities from the Pac-12.
“Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah were mentioned specifically as the teams being targeted by the Big 12, sources tell CBS Sports.”
The report also states that Oregon and Washington joining the Big 12 is also a possibility, moving the conference to an 18-team alignment. Furthermore, “A merger of the Big 12 and Pac-12, in some form, is also a possibility. ‘Everything is on the table,’ said one Big 12 source.”
The conference is in a perilous position with the Big Ten becoming a serious rival to the SEC after adding USC and UCLA last week. Both conferences have become goliaths in the sport as they continue to swallow up many of the top programs in the nation.
The Big 12’s strategy is an attempt to strengthen its ranks and get a leg up on the Pac-12 after both have fallen to a similar positions in the college football pecking order after their recent losses.
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