On the heels of last week’s blockbuster news that USC and UCLA will leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten conference, a new report out Tuesday says the Big 12 is looking to add as many as six Pac-12 teams including Oregon.
Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports, citing sources, says the Big 12 is in “deep discussions” to bring in Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah.
Oregon and Washington are also being considered.
If all six of those teams were to make the move, the Big 12 would become the largest conference in the FBS — 18 teams.
Dodd reports that a Big 12 and Pac-12 merger is also on the table.
But if those six teams mentioned do go to the Big 12, that means only Oregon State, Washington State, Stanford and California would be left from the Pac-12.
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The Pac-12 is not standing still, pushing up negotiations for its next media rights agreements.
The conference announced that its board of directors authorized negotiations after a meeting Tuesday morning.
The Pac-12’s current media rights deal expires in 2024, but the Pac-12 accelerated the timeline for negotiations for the next one with two of its marquee programs headed out the door.
The conference already had the lowest distribution number among Power Five schools, paying its member institutions $19.8 million in 2021, and losing the two Southern California schools would likely drop that number.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
