Pac-12's Next Move: Poaching the Big 12, Texas Tech?
In case you've been living under a rock, or don't care about college football, USC and UCLA both recently announced their intentions to leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten before the 2024 season.
This move begs the question, will the Pac-12 look to expand again or stand down?
The Pac-12 isn't helped by the fact that immediately upon the announcement that USC and UCLA were leaving the conference, other schools within the league reportedly reached out to the Big Ten to inquire about membership.
And why not? It would seem tradition has gone out the window in college football, so it's an "every man for himself" mentality. And all about survival and money.
The Pac-12 might seek out schools that add immediate value to their league. Logical candidates geographically would be schools like BYU, San Diego State, and Boise State.
BYU is slated to join the Big 12, so interest might not be there. San Diego State and Boise State are both respectable programs that would contribute immediately to the league.
But the most appealing programs probably lie in the Big 12 in Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and Baylor. It's not bad geographically for the Arizona schools to travel to Lubbock, Stillwater, and Waco when you consider what USC and UCLA are about to go through each season with travel across the country.
A Pac-12 South division that includes Arizona, Arizona State, Utah, Colorado, Texas Tech, Baylor, and Oklahoma State seems more geographically appealing than a lot of divisions within other leagues.
What about Texas Tech? Would the move be appealing? That would depend on the other schools involved. If Baylor and Oklahoma State seemed interested, then Tech might consider it.
It might have to be an "all or nothing" scenario for one or any of the schools to make a move anywhere. But mutual interest might be there, and with the way things are trending in college football lately, nothing is off the table.
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