Report: Colorado a Candidate to Defect from the Pac-12
On Monday, Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reported that Colorado is a candidate to defect from the Pac-12 and join the Big 12. Marchand wrote, "We will add this to the conversation around potential defections from Pac-12 to the Big 12: Watch Colorado."
Marchand is a sports media columnist who has been at the forefront of media rights negotiations for both the Pac-12 and the Big 12. Since his expertise is sports media, his sources are within sports media companies like ESPN and FOX, for example. Marchand has remained mostly neutral on the topic of conference expansion until today when he singled out Colorado as a potential defector.
It's no secret that the Big 12 is pursuing Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah. The Big 12 was first linked to 'Four Corner Schools' back in July of 2022 after USC and UCLA left the Pac-12 for the Big Ten. Big 12 expansion rumors cooled temporarily last fall while Pac-12 schools waited to see figures from its new media rights deal. Those rumors have heated back up in recent months, however, since the Pac-12 is still without a new deal after nine months of negotiating. Last week, The Athletic reported that a new Pac-12 deal "won’t likely be announced until 'late spring, early summer.'” To make matters worse, The Athletic also reported that the Pac-12 was negotiating with a new potential partner: The CW. The CW is known for broadcasting shows like "Gossip Girl" and "Riverdale".
The longer the Pac-12 goes without a media deal, the greater the opportunity will be for the Big 12 to poach Pac-12 schools. The resolution to this nearly year-long saga is expected to come in the next few months. Until then, the budding rivalry between the Pac-12 and the Big 12 will be a top storyline in college football.
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