Report: Pac-12 to ‘explore all expansion options’ in wake of USC, UCLA departures

With USC and UCLA gone, the Pac-12 will reportedly “explore all expansion options.” It feels instead like the Pac-12 will shrink before it expands, though.

The Pac-12 conference is in full damage-control mode on Friday after the craziest day in the history of the conference took place with the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins announcing their departure to the Big Ten on Thursday morning.

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The plan for both Los Angeles schools to leave the Pac-12 was finalized on Thursday night and will take place in 2024. With that bit of information now confirmed, the Pac-12 is left trying to salvage what they can. At the moment, there are rumblings that teams throughout the conference are looking to jump a sinking ship and potentially land in the Big Ten with USC and UCLA, or maybe venture over to the Big-12 if possible.

According to Bruce Feldman, the Pac-12 is exploring all expansion options going forward.

Ironically, “expansion” doesn’t seem like the right word for what the Pac-12 should be doing. Rather, I would call it a potential “merging” with the Big-12, or maybe rebranding. I don’t see a world where the Pac-12 — or Pac-10 now? — stays under the same name and brings a slew of new teams into the fold. Not when teams like the Oregon Ducks, Washington Huskies, and potentially the Utah Utes are looking to jump ship and find a strong conference to play in.

RELATED: What a Big Ten mega-conference might look like if Oregon joins

Like we said, it’s full damage-control mode at this point. We will see where the pieces land over the coming hours and days.

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