College Football Expansion: What Schools Could Move Next?
Expansion is in the air once again after a pair of dramatic offseasons in which the SEC and Big Ten re-drew the borders on the college football map.
Texas and Oklahoma are heading to the SEC, while USC and UCLA will join the Big Ten, as those moves are forecasted to come ahead of the 2024 season.
More: 4 Ways the 2024 College Football Season Will Be Unlike Any Other
But after all those changes comes the reaction, in particular by the Big 12 and Pac-12, the two conferences that lost those prestige programs and are looking to add inventory to build on for the future.
Consolidation and expansion is the way of the future in college football, as institutions jockey for position in the ever-increasing tidal wave of TV money.
Which could be the next dominoes to fall? Let's predict the future.
College Football Re-Alignment: What Schools Could Move Next?
Oregon: Oregon has steadily increased its prominence in the Pac-12 and nationally in this century and has developed into a solid recruiting destination, assets that the Big Ten would theoretically be interested in adding to its portfolio.
Plus, the school has a major connection with Nike, whose co-founder, Phil Knight, is a major benefactor. By joining with the Big Ten, Oregon can maintain its West Coast matchups with USC and UCLA while also expanding its reach by establishing yearly rivalries with Eastern legacy teams.
Washington: In theory, should Oregon move, UW could want to make the jump at the same time like USC and UCLA did, in order to preserve its historic border rivalry with the Ducks, and it should also be interested in aligning its prominent media market to the Big Ten's expanding reach.
Utah: The defending back-to-back Pac-12 football champions are suddenly in play for the Big 12, as reports indicate the league wants to add the program as part of an apparent plan to add four Western schools to increase its value.
Stanford: Another option for the Big Ten if they want an institution that screams "elite". Stanford has one of the country's biggest university endowments, boasts unchallenged academic prestige, and a solid athletic department to boot. Not to mention access to the San Francisco TV market and an international reach of alumni from the most respected corners of society.
USA Today Images
Arizona: Reports continue to swirl that the Big 12 is pursuing the UA as it looks to expand further into the West Coast market and Arizona is a solid brand that is competitive in many major sports, especially men's basketball and baseball.
Arizona State: Those rumors include the Sun Devils, who are reportedly a target for the Big 12 to extend its reach westward and to preserve the historic rivalry the school has with Arizona.
Boise State: A non-Power 5 program that has played well in recent memory, Boise State is a highly respected outfit that would be very interested in joining a major conference and move into another class of competition and exposure, a move that would be financially beneficial and open itself to new recruiting opportunities.
SMU: Adding the Dallas media market and moving into the football-obsessed state of Texas are both highly intriguing options for the Pac-12, which has been in direct contact with the school recently.
Colorado: The former Big 12 members could consider a move back to its old conference, one in which it had some real success on the football field in recent years. And in turn, the league would want to get in on the ground floor of the Deion Sanders phenomenon at the school, which has already seen notable recruiting gains and increased interest from fans, represented in spring game ticket sales, since the coach's arrival there.
More college football from SI: Top 25 Rankings | Schedule | All Teams