After proclaiming to the world at Pac-12 media days that the Big 12 wasn’t a threat, Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff and his conference might officially be in a world of hurt.
Less than a week later, the Colorado Buffaloes formalized a move to the Big 12 beginning in 2024. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Colorado is the first Power Five team that has left and then subsequently returned to a conference of its own volition.
This latest defection from the Pac-12 could signal the beginning of the end for the conference. Right now, the league feels like a serious house of cards.
Maybe all of this was inevitable after the Big 12 beat the Pac-12 to the punch in media rights negotiations. Following Oklahoma and Texas‘ announced moves to the SEC, the Big 12 did something it had failed to do much of over the previous decade: It grew proactive in a hurry.
Under the direction of then-Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, the league’s presidents and chancellors voted to accept BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF as new members into the conference. Current Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark finalized a six-year, $2.28 billion media rights agreement with ESPN and Fox Sports.
Now, Kliavkoff’s inability to present a potential media rights agreement that the Pac-12 membership finds satisfactory might lead to the dissolution of the conference.
While talks of more conference realignment rev up among both Big 12 and Big Ten circles, where does all of this leave the remaining nine members in the Pac-12?
What’s every school’s panic meter? Is there any legitimate fear of winding up in a Group of Five situation where per-year media rights payouts take a major dip?
Using the following scale, let’s break down where each Pac-12 program fits into the panic equation as the next puzzle pieces unfold out west:
- 3: Add members now! Keep this band together or else.
- 2: It’s time to explore the jump while there’s still slots.
- 1: Chances are, we’ll land on our feet.
- 0: No need to panic. There’s always a spot for us.