Pac-12 opts not to expand, so eyes remain on Big Ten and ACC

The Pac-12 won’t expand, and there is still little reason to suspect the Big Ten is interested.

If there are more dominoes to fall in conference realignment following the SEC’s power move to grab Oklahoma and Texas from the Big 12, it appears they will not be falling in the Pac-12.

In a statement released on Thursday, the Pac-12 announced it will not pursue expansion after consultation with the conference’s presidents, chancellors, and athletic directors. The announcement comes the same week the Pac-12 joined the Big Ten and ACC in agreeing to work together in some form of an alliance on the future development of the collegiate athletics landscape and, potentially, scheduling.

The decision is not one that was totally unexpected as the potential expansion targets for the Pac-12 were far from ideal for the mostly west coast conference. And the potential of working together with the Big Ten and ACC could mitigate the concerns over a lack of stability for the Pac-12 similar to one that doomed the Big 12 (to be honest though, the Pac-12 is far from being as fractured as the Big 12 ever was).

So with the Pac-12 opting not to pursue expansion, the attention would seem to shift more squarely on the Big Ten and ACC. To this point, there is no indication the Big Ten will be making any immediate moves on teams remaining from the Big 12. West Virginia has been considered a potential option for the ACC by many, although that appears to be more speculation than anything else at this current point in time.

The Big Ten is the conference that would have the most options to explore if going strictly by geography. But in terms of what there is to gain, the options are lacking for the Big Ten. Kansas basketball would be nice to see, but if that means taking on Kansas football too, there is no good reason to justify that for the Big Ten.

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Oklahoma and Texas, or one or the other, would have been the only options worth seriously exploring for the Big Ten, which already includes Nebraska. Unless the Big Ten can manage to convince Notre Dame to join them, the idea of the Big Ten expanding seems less and less likely to materialize.

And now that the Big Ten can potentially have some scheduling relationships with the ACC and Pac-12, don’t expect that to be changing any time soon.

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