AP: Big 12, Pac-12 Considering Alliance, Possible Merger
The commissioners of the Pac-12 and Big 12 are discussing how the two conferences might benefit from working together or maybe even merging.
Two people with knowledge of the meeting told The Associated Press about the talks between Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby and George Kliavkoff from the Pac-12.
The Big 12 is trying to rebound after learning Oklahoma and Texas plan to leave for the Southeastern Conference in 2025.
The Big 12 has to start looking at how to move forward without their flagship programs immediately. The Pac-12 has not indicated it is in a rush to add members.
With the departure of Oklahoma and Texas, the ten-member Big 12 would be down to eight schools: Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech and West Virginia.
The Pac-12 has 12 schools: Arizona, Arizona State, California-Berkeley, California-Los Angeles, Colorado, Oregon, Oregon State, USC, Stanford, Utah, Washington and Washington State.
A full merger would create a 20-team conference, with four more schools than the SEC.
(Copyright 2021 The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)
