Let’s be honest for a quick second. When it comes to conference realignment, the dust never really settles.
Although the Big Ten seemed content to sit on the addition of USC and UCLA coming up in 2024 without any momentum toward adding additional schools to the mix, there is no doubt the Big Ten has its eyes on the developments going down in the Pac-12.
After already losing USC and UCLA to the Big Ten, the Pac-12 now loses one of its newer members, Colorado, to the Big 12. The Buffs will return to their former conference, the Big 12, that will look totally new to them next year.
The Big 12 welcomes four new members this year: BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston are joining the conference and longtime staples in the conference Oklahoma and Texas are leaving for the SEC next year.
Rumors suggest the Big 12 is looking to add one more program, potentially from the Power Five. Pac-12 schools Arizona, Arizona State and Utah have been considered among the most likely targets for the Big 12.
Even if the Big Ten wasn’t proactively seeking other new members from the West Coast, now feels like as good a time as any to reopen the conversation about the Big Ten’s next moves. There are some notable schools worth evaluating as they seek long-term stability.
Here are the top five Big Ten expansion candidates that Colorado is heading to the Big 12 and leaving the Pac-12 on the brink of a potential collapse from the power conference structure. One quick note on the omission of Texas and Oklahoma, which has always been on my personal Big Ten wish list. With those schools heading to the SEC, there is no way they change their course. Maybe the money would be better in the Big Ten, but it would not be that much of a difference than joining the SEC.