Cal Sports Report

Cal May Be Left Out If Big Ten Adds Pac-12 Schools

Big Ten seems interested in Oregon and Washington only. Arizona apparently is headed to the Big 12.

Jake Curtis

We are all reading between the lines with every credible report that surfaces regarding conference changes involving the Pac-12 in general and Cal in particular.

And the innuendos on Thursday do not favor Cal or Stanford.

The latest reports Thursday indicate the Big Ten is considering adding Washington and Oregon and is exploring that possibility.  There is no such report that the Big Ten is interested in further exploring the possibility of adding Cal and Stanford, as Wednesday's news suggested.

This comes the same day that multiple outlets report that Arizona is on the verge of moving to the Big 12.

ESPN's Pete Thamel seems to be on top of this, and this is what he reported

Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports added a tweet that included this ominous statement: "Cal and Stanford not a priority right now."

ESPN.com's report on the situation contained this excerpt:

Oregon is now viewed as charting the course for the Pac-12's future. If the Ducks are comfortable with a Big Ten offer, Washington would follow. But there's also a chance Oregon may be comfortable with the ambiguity of the Pac-12's deal, stay put, and try to dominate the Pac-12.

Still, the Big Ten is ultimately a goal for both Oregon and Washington. And a transitory financial phase for a multi-generational decision would seem to make sense. But they could stay in a more geographically sensible league and enjoy clearer access to the College Football Playoff. And there remain forces working against Oregon and Washington's additions, both from the West Coast and the heartland.

There's a sense the Big Ten's decision could be tied to what the three remaining Four-Corner Schools -- Arizona, Arizona State and Utah -- end up doing. But there's also the idea those schools want to wait and see what Oregon and Washington end up doing.

There is no mention of Cal and Stanford in all this.

Furthermore it seems Arizona is all but gone and heading for the Big 12.

.

If Arizona leaves as expected, Arizona State may follow. Possibly Utah too.

Which leads this conclusion from Dodd:

Cal's best hope, it seems, is for Oregon and Washington to stay in the Pac-12 for now, allowing the conference to survive for the near future. An attractive media-rights deal and the addition of one, two or three schools could allow the Pac-12 to continue to exist.

Otherwise, Cal, Stanford, Washington State and Oregon State will be without any good options, perhaps forcing them to join the Mountain West.  Or would the Big 12 extend an invitation to Cal and/or Stanford, neither of whom have shown any interest in joining the Big 12?

Things chance by the day, so tomorrow may present a very different scenario for Cal's future. As of Thursday, though, it doesn't look good for the Golden Bears.

Cover photo of Justin Wilcox by Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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