In what has been a fury of college football realignment events over the last few weeks, the Big 12 appears ready to add their eventual 14th member institution.
On Thursday night, it was reported by multiple outlets, including ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger, that the University of Arizona and the Big 12 were closing in on Arizona leaving the Pac-12 and joining the Big 12.
Arizona has been a member of the Pac-12 conference since 1978 and previously was part of the WAC from 1962 through 1977.
According to Dellenger, the Big 12’s executives met Thursday evening to “approve the application of Arizona as a 14th member” of the Big 12 conference. Arizona would be the second Pac-12 program to make the jump, joining the University of Colorado, which previously did so on July 27. The final step for Arizona to join the Big 12 would be for its Board of Regents to officially approve the move via a vote.
The Arizona Board of Regents officially met on Thursday night, which included discussions regarding the university’s athletics. As of early Friday morning, it was unclear what was specifically discussed in the boards’ executive meeting and the results of that meeting.
Notably, the Arizona Board of Regents also oversees the Arizona State University. Pete Thamel has previously reported that the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, and the University of Utah would all likely stick together regarding their conference decisions.
On Thursday night, Thamel added that while both Arizona State and Utah have been “more conservative in their approach,” there has been a change recently in the “tenor” of the conversations due to recent events.
If the Pac-12 were to lose Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah, it could effectively end the conference. At that point in time, the Big Ten Conference would likely make official pushes for the University of Oregon and the University of Washington to join the Big Ten.
Thamel also reported on Thursday afternoon that the Big Ten’s presidents met Thursday morning and “authorized Commissioner Tony Petitti to explore expansion and bring them back more information on Oregon and Washington.”
Ross Dellenger would add on later on Thursday, noting that any Big Ten offer to Oregon and Washington would likely be in the $35 – $40 million per year range regarding payouts from the conference’s media deal. That said, both Thamel and Dellenger stated that the lower payment amounts could be a potential hangup for Oregon and Washington in potentially leaving for the Big Ten.
While conference expansion continues to rapidly change the landscape of college athletics, the 2023 college football season is just around the corner, with week zero just over three weeks away. If the last few weeks indicate what could be in store for the rest of the year, it could be one historic season of college football, and the sport may never be the same once it’s all said and done.