The idea of conference realignment and expansion is not new in the world of college football. After the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners announced that they would be going from the Big 12 to the SEC a few years ago, it opened the door for both the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins to jump ship and leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten last summer. Both of those moves are yet to officially take place, but with those moves on the horizon, it has led to speculation of more realignment in the future.
For the Oregon Ducks, there is a belief that they may end up moving to the Big Ten in the coming years, along with another school like Washington, or Utah. However, before that happens, the Pac-12 appears to be making a last-ditch effort to try and expand itself, working to get back to 12 teams after losing the Los Angeles schools.
According to a report from Brett McMurphy on Tuesday night, Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff will be taking a visit to SMU on Wednesday, with the potential goal of adding the Mustangs to the conference in an expansion move. SMU would likely not be the only team that the conference adds, but could be the first major domino to fall.
Pac-12 commish George Kliavkoff visiting SMU Wednesday, sources told @ActionNetworkHQ. San Diego State & SMU are top Pac-12 expansion candidates. Pac-12 needs more members & more inventory for new media rights deal, which is expected to rely heavily on digital streaming services
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) February 8, 2023
Even if the Pac-12 were to add a couple of these teams, it’s hard to see them leveling up enough to be seen as one of the major conferences in college football. A lot of the candidates for expansion are typically smaller schools from non-Power 5 conferences. For example, you aren’t going to convince a school like Oklahoma State or Texas Tech to move to the Pac-12, with the Big-12 sitting pretty at the moment. You also have ACC schools that would be good candidates, but they’re locked into a TV deal that makes realignment infeasible for the time being.
So who could Kliavkoff look to add to the conference to bring it up to full strength? We’ve got a few candidates in mind.