It is a massive day in the future of the Pac-12.
On Monday, it was first reported by college football insider John Canzano and confirmed by Stewart Mandel of The Athletic that Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff will be presenting a television rights deal to the conference’s nine remaining schools.
Additionally, the Arizona Board of Regents, which oversees both Arizona and Arizona State, has scheduled a 3:30 p.m. meeting on Tuesday afternoon. It is currently unclear what that meeting is regarding.
The television rights presentation will play a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of college football amid conference realignment and expansion.
In addition to that, ESPN’s Pete Thamel released an article on ESPN on Monday that takes a look at potential future conference realignment ongoings. One hint Thamel gave on Twitter was that Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah could “band together in solidarity” regarding their respective futures. Other reports, including one from ESPN Radio’s Ian Fitzsimmons, report that Utah “isn’t exactly returning the phone calls.”
What will ultimately happen with Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah remains to be seen. Still, the Pac-12 media rights deal that is being presented on Tuesday will certainly have a significant impact on those three universities and their future decisions.
If those three universities were to leave the conference, only six universities would remain in the conference. Those universities would be Cal, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, Washington, and Washington State.
Colorado previously announced last week their departure for the Big 12 starting in July of 2024, while Southern California and UCLA will both leave for the Big Ten next July as well.
If those three schools were to leave, however, the Pac-12 would have plenty of options to choose from in conference expansion. According to college sports insider Jim Williams, who is a columnist for multiple outlets including Forbes and Zenger, the Pac-12 has received paperwork from nearly a dozen universities looking to potentially join the conference.