Pac-12 Expansion because of Oklahoma & Texas to SEC?

[spiderfan]

One of, if not the biggest story in all of sports right now is the likely exit of Oklahoma and Texas from the Big 12 and their inclusion into the SEC. This would then make the SEC a 16 team super conference. But what of the other 8 members of the Big 12 (Yes, the Big 12 has 10 schools)? They could add other schools from across the country to keep the conference alive. Due to their TV markets, I could see Houston and SMU or Cincinnati being additions. There is talk of the American Conference recruiting some of the remaining 8 into inclusion into the American Conference, although that becomes an issue when you consider the AAC has smaller revenue stream than the Big 12. But what there has also been talk of, and what is probably most likely (at least IMO based on the various reports out currently from various insiders) is the Pac 12 will expand. Which is why I'm talking about this here.

I know that everyone on here is a fan of Pac-12 athletics (I'm a casual observer of them myself), so my questions to my Pac-12 peeps is this: How do you feel about Pac 12 expansion? What do you think about some variation (it might be all or might just be 2) of TCU, Texas Tech, Baylor, and Oklahoma State (I know there is Iowa St, West Virginia, Kansas, and Kansas State but I haven't really seen them mentioned specifically) joining the Pac-12 and creating a Pac-14 or 16? Or do you think some of the other 4 should join and create a Pac-18 or even Pac-20?

As someone who consumes a lot of Big 12 football and basketball, I am totally a fan of the Pac-12 expansion idea. I would love to see Baylor and UCLA play each other in basketball (featuring Dave Pasch and Bill Walton on commentary) and see Texas Tech on Pac-12 After Dark and see USC go into Stillwater and see TCU play old Mountain West foe Utah (I also love Oklahoma and Texas joining the SEC but that is a different conversation). But all of that is coming from someone who has a regional connection to the parties involved. For people who are from out west what is your perception? Are they welcome additions or interlopers or somewhere in between? I'm highly curious in y'all's opinion on this. 

[Yeseeka]

It was only a few years ago that Colorado and Utah were added to the Pac-10 to make it the Pac-12. There are schools which could geographically fit the conference, but I don't know if going as far as Texas or Oklahoma fits that bill. Maybe it does. I'm in favor of the conference growing but, and Angi can tell you more since she went there, that we've always kind of thought of Boise St. jumping from the Mountain West to the Pac-12+. Geographically, it would seem to make sense to me. I wonder what it might take for a North Dakota St. or Wyoming to come west. I know those aren't considered major schools nationwide, but they seem to feature pretty strong teams year in and year out. It might be interesting to see.

The Pac-12 needs a boost and expansion in schools is the way to go. I would wand to make sure it's not just football, but in the other sports as well. Maybe a couple Texas/Oklahoma schools would work. It seems like there are many possibilities when it comes to expanding the conference.

[spiderfan]

Jul 27, 2021 19:53:18 GMT -8 Yeseeka said:

It was only a few years ago that Colorado and Utah were added to the Pac-10 to make it the Pac-12. There are schools which could geographically fit the conference, but I don't know if going as far as Texas or Oklahoma fits that bill. Maybe it does. I'm in favor of the conference growing but, and Angi can tell you more since she went there, that we've always kind of thought of Boise St. jumping from the Mountain West to the Pac-12+. Geographically, it would seem to make sense to me. I wonder what it might take for a North Dakota St. or Wyoming to come west. I know those aren't considered major schools nationwide, but they seem to feature pretty strong teams year in and year out. It might be interesting to see.

The Pac-12 needs a boost and expansion in schools is the way to go. I would wand to make sure it's not just football, but in the other sports as well. Maybe a couple Texas/Oklahoma schools would work. It seems like there are many possibilities when it comes to expanding the conference.

It is possible that conference realignment results in schools like Boise St or NDST moving up and becoming P5 schools. Basketball will certainly play a part in realignment. Baylor are the reigning national champions and one of the best programs in the country. Because of that I doubt they would fall out of a major conference. Maybe they could go to the Big 10 or ACC, but when you take schools like Texas Tech (which is out in West Texas) and TCU (who played in the Mountain West for a number of years), the Pac-12 makes more sense. 

[DiamondThief]

Well, it looks like the Pac-12 is going to hold tight at 12 teams, according to Fox12 Oregon:


Standing pat: Pac-12 decides it will not explore expansion

The Pac-12 said Thursday it will stand pat with its membership and not look to add schools to the 12-team conference, making it highly unlikely that the Big 12 schools being left behind by Texas and Oklahoma will find new Power Five homes.

The announcement comes two days after the Pac-12, Atlantic Coast Conference and Big Ten pledged to work together on governance issues and scheduling agreements in football and basketball.

The formation of a three-conference alliance was announced a little less than a month after the Southeastern Conference invited Texas and Oklahoma to join the league in 2025, which would coincide with the end of the Big 12's current television contract.

With Pac-12 expansion off the board, and both the ACC and Big Ten stating publicly that they are content with their current membership, the eight remaining Big 12 schools appear to have limited options beyond sticking together.

“The decision by Texas and Oklahoma led to significant instability in college athletics and I don't think instability is good for college athletics, particularly given all the other issues that are facing us right now,” Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff told The Associated Press. “I think you heard my colleagues in the ACC and Big Ten agree with that position that we need to bring a stability back to college athletics.”

The Pac-12 appears positioned to reap some of the benefits of expansion, such as games in the Central and Eastern time zones and exposure to new recruiting territory, through the alliance with the Big Ten and ACC.

Kliavkoff had openly talked recently about how the conference had a group of athletic directors and university presidents analyzing the possibility of expansion, and that their work would be finished soon.

Kilavkoff declined to say which schools had reached out to the Pac-12 about membership opportunities, or even how many.

He said part of creating the stability the alliance is aiming for included coming to a quick and transparent decision on expansion.

“We did the work necessary to determine that we were happy with our current makeup and that we think we can thrive with 12,” Kilavkoff said. “It was a unanimous vote of our presidents and chancellors to stay at 12.”

Here is the link to the article: Standing pat: Pac-12 decides it will not explore expansion

[spiderfan]

It was disappointing to hear the announcement that the Pac-12 wasn't going to expand, because I was really into the idea. I guess the main realignment will result in a shift of the Big 12 and the American Athletic Conference as opposed to the ACC, Pac-12, and B1G.