Incoming Big 12 Commissioner Does Not Exclude Pac-12 From Possible Expansion

Incoming Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark admitted Wednesday that his conference might consider adding schools from the Pac-12.

Yormark, who officially takes over from Bob Bowlsby on August 1, made his first public comments since USC and UCLA agreed to join the Big Ten in 2024.

He said the Big 12 is exploring all options regarding possible expansion, according to the ESPN.com report, and when asked specifically whether he was considering adding teams from the Pac-12, he said this:

"We're open for business. And optionality is good. And we're vetting through all of them. I think it's fair to say I've received a lot of phone calls, a lot of interest. We're exploring those levels of interest. Nothing is imminent."

The last sentence that “nothing is imminent” suggests the rumored move of Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado joining the Big 12 will not occur soon. Of course, conference commissioners have gone back on their words in the recent past and things tend to change rapidly these days.

The Pac-12 has issued two statements in recent weeks:

"The 10 university presidents and chancellors remain committed to a shared mission of academic and athletic excellence on behalf of our student-athletes," the Pac-12 said in a statement on July 1.

The other statement noted the Pac-12 will begin negotiating media rights.

Yormark said "there is not a definitive plan right now, and he added the conference is "a very unified group." The Big 12 will add BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF on July 1, 2023.

Cal has not been mentioned prominently in reports of Pac-12 teams that might join the Big 12, but things seem to change by the day.

The more significant news for Cal’s future is that the UC Regents plan to meet next week regarding the departure of UCLA to the Big Ten and how that impacts the Cal athletic department, which sponsors 30 varsity sports.

Cover photo by Darren Yamashita, USA TODAY Sports

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