Write For California

Share this post
The Pac-6? Discussions between Big 12 and four Pac-12 members reportedly happening this week
writeforcalifornia.com

The Pac-6? Discussions between Big 12 and four Pac-12 members reportedly happening this week

The rumored names: Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Utah.

Avinash Kunnath
Jul 4
4
132
Share this post
The Pac-6? Discussions between Big 12 and four Pac-12 members reportedly happening this week
writeforcalifornia.com

A glum week gets worse for Cal fans. The disintegration of the Pac-12 continues in earnest, as the conference seems like is about to lose half its teams.

It sounds as if the Big 12 is seizing the opportunity to capitalize on the chaos and uncertainty and add in members that make sense for their larger footprint.

Write For California is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Twitter avatar for @Sidelines_SNSidelines Sports Network™ @Sidelines_SN
Here's a look at the rumored Big 12 expansion with Utah, Arizona, Arizona State, & Colorado leaving the Pac 12. Rumors are bouncing back and forth that the Big 12 is not interested & that they've already contacted these 4 schools, yet to be seen which is true.
Image

July 2nd 2022

64 Retweets381 Likes

Rumors are meetings are underway with several members. The Arizona Wildcats are likely one of the key names, since this report originates from Jason Scheer of Wildcat Authority.

Twitter avatar for @jasonscheerJason Scheer @jasonscheer
Sources indicate to WildcatAuthority that there will be significant discussions between the Big 12 and Pac-12 this week. It would include four Pac-12 members joining the Big 12.
Arizona to have meeting with Big 12 this weekA meeting is scheduled between members of the Pac-12 and Big 12 on Tuesday. Read on for the latest.247sports.com

July 3rd 2022

313 Retweets1,044 Likes

The other three appear to be the Arizona State Sun Devils, Colorado Buffaloes and the Utah Utes, based on additional reports.

Twitter avatar for @FOSFront Office Sports @FOS
The Big 12 may "get aggressive" and look to add Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado, per @Brett_McMurphy. “We’re headed to super conferences.”
Image
Image
Image
Image

June 30th 2022

182 Retweets1,438 Likes

With USC and UCLA on their way to the Big Ten, the Pac-12’s power is significantly diminished, particularly with negotiations for the next TV deal. According to a conversation John Canzano had with a former Fox Sports executive, the Pac-12 losing USC and UCLA reduced the conference’s bargaining power by about 40%.

So it makes sense for the Arizonas and the Mountain schools to jump ship. It’s unlikely that the Big Ten will reach out to those schools based on market sizing. Only Arizona State would be a fit from a market perspective based on Phoenix, but ASU is not an AAU research institute, which has been a Big Ten pre-requisite for entry. Utah would make sense from a football and improving brand perspective, but the market is still fairly small.

So that leaves us with the Pac-6: Cal, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, Washington, Washington State. That is not even close to enough to maintain a competitive conference. Acquiring new teams from the Mountain West will not offset these losses.

Oregon and Washington are sitting on pins and needles, hoping the Big Ten takes their calls. It seems like they should be a natural fit, but they weren’t included in the initial run, so we’ll see.

Stanford has a bevy of options with financial independence. Do they go independent? Do they de-emphasize football and go West Coast Ivy? Or do they try to keep engaging in this arms race and profit while they still can?

You just have to feel bad for Oregon State and Washington State. If Oregon and Washington leave, they’ll try their best for the Big 12, but it’s going to be a hard sell.

And then there is Cal, our sweet, beautiful Cal. What on earth are they going to do? What is their road to staying in the power football race? The Big Ten is clearly the path to long-term success, but of all the schools that could be in contention, they have probably the weakest case to make at this time. Someone powerful (in the Big Ten, or USC/UCLA, or the state of California) is going to have to make the case.

Write For California is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

132
Share this post
The Pac-6? Discussions between Big 12 and four Pac-12 members reportedly happening this week
writeforcalifornia.com
132 Comments

Create your profile

0 subscriptions will be displayed on your profile (edit)

Skip for now

Only paid subscribers can comment on this post

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in

Check your email

For your security, we need to re-authenticate you.

Click the link we sent to , or click here to sign in.

Tango
Jul 20

Arizona and ASU belong in the Big 10. There is no alumni market for the Big 12 or Mountain West teams here. There is a huge, and growing Big 10 alumni network in Arizona. If it’s about having games people want to watch, then that’s the answer. These states aren’t like Midwestern states where different schools can easily drive to each other’s games. The distances are really far here. Will common sense prevail? Probably not.

Expand full comment
ReplyGift a subscriptionCollapse
Bob R.
Jul 5

Gobears49

A good topic for an article would be to ask for suggestions as to how to increase football attendance. Would get lots of comments. Then WriteForCaliofrnia could send them to Jim Knowlton and ask him to comment on them in terms of whether he would seriously consider them and give them a try. Actually, a commission should be established to discuss that topic. Maybe some of you narjetubg types could participate in that group call, maybe after work hours. I'd go for flashlight stunts for a night game, because it has probably been ages since that was done and promote it by asking parents to bring their kids. But there must be much better ideas int there than that.

Expand full comment
ReplyCollapse
130 more comments…
TopNewCommunity

No posts

Ready for more?

© 2022 Write For California LLC
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Publish on Substack Get the app
Substack is the home for great writing