Pac-12's last College Football Playoff team schedules 'special meeting' for Thursday evening

Washington's Board of Regents has scheduled a surprise meeting for Thursday evening at 9 p.m. PT/midnight ET. The meeting comes as the Pac-12 descends into chaos. Last week, Colorado announced it was leaving the conference to return to the Big 12. 

On Wednesday, reports circulated that the Big Ten is expected to try to lure some of the remaining Pac-12 members, but might wait until the Big 12 poaches the Arizona schools.

Washington was named as one of the schools the Big Ten would be interested in adding, along with Oregon, Stanford and Cal. It's the last Pac-12 school to reach the College Football Playoff (2016). Oregon is the only other Pac-12 program to make the Playoff in the CFP era, doing so in 2014.

On Tuesday, the conference's remaining members were given details on a proposed media rights deal with Apple. While financial specifics weren't officially released, the decision from Washington to hold a special meeting suggests the numbers were far from adequate.

Yahoo Sports reported the Apple deal "is just south of $20 million" per team. The Big 12's media rights deal with ESPN is for $31.7 million per institution. Both numbers lag behind the SEC ($66 million) and the Big Ten ($100 million) in their most recently negotiated media rights deals.

As the Seattle Times notes, a Washington move would likely mean the end of the Apple Cup, held annually between in-state rivals Washington and Washington State. That would be a bigger blow to fans than to the Huskies, who can't afford to go down with the Pac-12.

The Times cautions that "no action is expected to be taken" and that "[t]he purpose of the meeting ... is 'to discuss with counsel present pending or potential litigation.'"

It seems as though it's a matter of when, not if, the Pac-12 implodes. Depending on the outcome of Washington's late-night meeting, we could soon be a lot closer to the conference's demise.