The Big 12 and the Pac-12 could be merging, or forming a scheduling alliance at the very least.
Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby and new Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff are meeting on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of a conference merger, or at the very least a scheduling alliance.
The Athletic’s Max Olson reported on these two conferences possibly working closely together in the wake of a new era of college athletics realignment. The Big 12 is losing its two biggest brands in Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC in 2025, possibly sooner if the media rights payouts are made in full before then. This meeting seems a bit out-of-the-box, but it could yield interesting results.
How should we feel about a Big 12/Pac-12 merger or a scheduling alliance between the two?
Big 12, Pac-12 meeting to discuss possible merger, scheduling alliance
A 20-team mega-conference seems a tad ridiculous, but what isn’t in this day of major college athletics? While it serves the remaining eight Big 12 teams to stick together, one would think some schools like Kansas, Iowa State and West Virginia are vulnerable to being poached by leagues like the Big Ten and the ACC in the next wave of major college sports realignment.
So if this potential merger were to get us around 16-to-18 teams, that might be more in line with the new 16-team SEC that prominently features Oklahoma and Texas, as well as an augmented ACC that could include a school like West Virginia. If the Big 12 and the Pac-12 have to merge to theoretically survive in this new age of college athletics, maybe that is what it will have to take?
As far as a scheduling alliance, that might be more of the way to go. Since the remaining eight Big 12 teams would only be able to play seven conference games once Texas and Oklahoma go to the SEC, adding in a high-quality opponent in the non-conference in a Pac-12 school would certainly help offset the Big 12’s weaker conference slate. Either way, collaboration does feel promising.
If the Big 12 and Pac-12 can collaborate, something good will have to come from it then, right?
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