Here we go again. We are about to experience another round of realignment. You can laugh at the Pac-12 Conference if you want. Many people are doing just that. However, if you like stability in college sports, the Pac-12’s failure has not given you want you want.
The Pac-12 could not secure its full (10-school) membership. As a result, the Big 12 — now at 13 schools for the 2024-2025 cycle — will need to add at least one more school, possibly three. That reality will create shifts in the conferences the Big 12 takes from.
The Pac-12 shrinking to nine schools for the 2024-2025 cycle means the conference will need to find a 10th school somewhere. That’s another spin of the realignment wheel. However, the Pac-12 (or is it Pac-9?) doesn’t even know if it will survive. If the Arizona schools — Arizona State and the University of Arizona — both bolt for the Big 12, the Pac-12 could die. If that scenario does come true, we could see superconferences, defined as conferences with 20 or more members. The Big Ten wouldn’t choose to take on added schools, but it would essentially need to, since the alternative would be the Big 12 or ACC taking those schools.
So much is in play, and we know big changes lie ahead, but we don’t know what the specific changes will be.
We talked about these topics and more with Mark Rogers at The Voice of College Football.
The REALIGNMENT TALK is LIVE 🔥
with @TJAltimore @MattZemek & a cast of thousandshttps://t.co/ASWuWMC4WK pic.twitter.com/JSuxF82zu8— Mark Rogers (@MarkRogersTV) July 29, 2023
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