Ranking the remaining Pac-12 schools by who needs the conference to stay together the most

Not all Pac-12 programs are in the same boat

On Tuesday, Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff will have met the remaining nine Pac-12 programs to pitch to them a media rights deal and possible numbers.

This has been a long time coming, and had this meeting come about a week or so earlier could have possibly prevented Colorado from leaving for the Pac-12. Depending on how the meeting goes will impact whether or not the conference sticks together as there are a few programs that are believed to be eyeing another place to call home if the Pac-12 doesn't work out.

However, while some programs have options not everyone in the conference has the same options awaiting them. I see there being three categories for the remaining  nine programs; this deal is make or break for us, somewhere in the middle, and we have options elsewhere.

Let's take a look as to which programs fall under which category. 

Make or Break

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Schools: Oregon State & Washington State 

In just about every realignment scenario that involves the Pac-12 dissolving, these two programs are left out by other conferences. The Big 12 is eyeing the remaining four corner schools, and the Big Ten may not even want Oregon and Washington who are the biggest brands in the conference. What could happen to these two programs is the unfortunate aspect of this phase of realignment. 

Somewhere in the Middle

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Schools: Cal, Stanford, Utah, and Arizona State 

Obviously Utah and Arizona are among the four corner schools, but the Big 12 is rumored to have just one spot open unless they figure something else out. If the money aspect is squared away then those two would likely love to jump to the Big 12 if needed. Stanford and Cal have been a mystery as they have long been viewed as candidates for the Big Ten, but there really hasn't been concrete proof that if things go awry they will end up in the Big Ten. Stanford has long been viewed as a strong enough brand to be independent, but the amount of money they'd lose in doing so would be huge. 

We Have Options

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Schools: Oregon, Washington, Arizona 

Oregon and Washington are the two biggest remaining brands in the conference, so the Pac-12 definitely needs to find a way to keep them. They have long been awaiting the Big Ten invite, and while they haven't gotten it up to this point maybe the Big Ten changes their mind if the Pac-12 implodes. They also could go to the Big 12 if they really wanted as they'd still be the biggest brands in that conference. Arizona is the next in line for the Big 12 and the move could happen sometime this week. If the Big 12 were to have to pick one school, it would likely be Arizona.