Are 3 schools aligned as package deal for potential Pac-12 exit?
Oct 26, 2022; San Francisco, CA, USA; Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff during Pac-12 Media Day at Pac-12 Network Studios. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The members of the Pac-12 are evaluating a TV plan that was presented to them by the league’s commissioner on Tuesday. The long-term viability of the conference is in question, especially after USC, UCLA and Colorado all made plans to exit in 2024.
There has always been a question of whether or not the remaining schools would stick together or disband, particularly with the Big 12 chasing some of the schools.
What’s interesting is that several reporters have indicated that if there is another exodus from the Pac-12, it would be three schools leaving rather than just one.
There has been talk about the Big 12 wanting the “Four Corners” schools. The “Four Corners” refers to the point where Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico all meet. Colorado has already left the Pac-12 for the Big 12. The remaining Four Corners schools in the Pac-12 are Utah, Arizona and Arizona State.
The University of Arizona reportedly is considering leaving for the Big 12, but rather than go on their own, a lot of the talk indicates they would leave as a package with Utah and Arizona State.
It seems no one in the @pac12 wants to be the thread that pulls apart the fabric of the league. That's why you're seeing word of three going to the @Big12Conference, sort of like a hockey line change. Stay tuned.
— Dennis Dodd (@dennisdoddcbs) August 1, 2023
Seems important. https://t.co/NBhI7yinJO pic.twitter.com/nSfNZqMWhd
— Gabe Swartz (@gabeswartz_) August 1, 2023
The Big 12 is set to have 13 schools in 2024. Adding one school so that they have an even number of teams would make sense. Adding three more would give them 16 total members and allow them to have two divisions of eight teams. Plus, adding Arizona, Arizona State and Utah would seem to signal the Big 12 leaping the Pac-12 in significance.
Maybe the schools stay in the Pac-12, but there is also seemingly a real possibility they could leave for the Big 12. That is what the schools are currently evaluating.