Who Gets the PAC-12?
Photo by Tom Hauck from Getty Images
About two years ago or so, Texas and Oklahoma decided they were going to go to the SEC and leave the Big 12 in a state of limbo.
I, and many others, thought this would be the Big 12’s demise, and so I wrote a post about where I thought each Big 12 team would go.
As it turns out, nobody came to feast on the remains.
Last year, USC and UCLA announced they would be leaving the PAC-12 for the Big 10, leaving the PAC-12 in a state of limbo.
But now, we’re starting to see the conferences swarm.
Colorado has already announced they are leaving for the Big 12, and with no media deal in site, it’s rumored that others will be leaving the PAC-12 soon.
So, I figured why not write once more about where I think everyone in the PAC-12 will end up.
Arizona, Arizona State & Utah: Big 12
The Big 10 is about to be a 16 team conference. The SEC is about to be a 16 team conference.
The Big 12, with the addition of Colorado, will sit at 13 once Texas and Oklahoma leave.
The schools surrounding Colorado with Arizona, Arizona State and Utah make the most geographical sense to be able to get the Big 12 to 16 teams and continue to be a top tier college football conference.
Washington & Oregon: Big 10
When asked at Big 10 media day about expansion, Big 10 commissioner Tony Pettiti said that “Like anything, there will be tweaks and changes. But overall, that's really where we are. I'm not getting direction to do anything else other than that in terms of what the conference looks like right now."
In college football talk, we all know what that means.
They’re looking to continue building.
Washington and Oregon are the remaining big brands in the PAC-12, and the SEC likely wouldn’t go for pacific northwest schools.
Makes perfect sense for the Big 10.
California & Stanford: Drop to FCS
Here’s the deal, folks.
Cal and Stanford’s athletic programs have a couple options here.
They could go to a far away conference, leading to lots of money spent on travel and accommodations when they aren’t big football schools.
Or, they could drop down to the FCS level, stay local, and focus on education which is what they really care about as opposed to football.
I’d say it’s more likely they just take the hit and drop down.
If anything, this could be a good excuse to put their resources elsewhere.
Washington State & Oregon State: Big 12
The last two remaining in the PAC-12 don’t really have a lot of places to fit.
They’re too good and invest too much in football to drop down. They aren’t prestigious enough for the Big 10 or the SEC.
The only real spot they could fit is the Big 12.
But wait, that would put the Big 12 at 18 schools. That seems like an awful lot considering the Big 12 has a set in stone TV deal which means each school is suddenly getting less of the pie, right?
West Virginia & Cincinnati: ACC
And this is why I think Oregon State and Wazzu end up in the Big 12.
I think the ACC, watching every other conference continue to grow while they stay stagnant, would be wondering what they can do to grow their conference.
Giving WVU and Cincy the chance to be in a major conference and remaining close to home is a huge play for them, and could just be enough to sway the two schools over.
And if you’re thinking to yourself “Brian, did you just write an entire post only to discuss WVU going to the ACC so they can play their rivals again?”
Abso-damn-lutely I did.
