College football expansion update: Pac-12 school responds to Big 12 rumors
College football insiders have reported that the Big 12 was hoping to attract four Pac-12 members for the next potential phase of realignment.
Since those reports went public, at least two officials of Pac-12 schools have been going on the record making statements about how the conference is putting on a united front and looking to stay together.
Related: College Football Expansion: Which Schools Could Move Next
What Arizona says about it
University of Arizona president Robert Robbins tried to quiet rumors that his school, or any in the Pac-12, is currently looking to the Big 12 for membership.
"There's a lot of disinformation, for instance, that Arizona is going to the Big 12," Robbins said recently.
"We're not going to the Big 12. We wanna see what the deal is here [in the Pac-12] because we are all, including Arizona, including Arizona State, and all the other schools, want to keep the Conference of Champions together."
College football insiders have long reported that it's a possibility Arizona in addition to one of the other "Four Corners" schools — Arizona State, Utah, and Colorado — could leave for the Big 12 if their current conference cannot secure a media rights deal that pays enough to stay in the league.
Robbins is confident the Pac-12 can come through on that score, though.
"I put it at greater than 95 percent chance we're gonna get a great deal, we're all gonna be happy, and the Conference of Champions will stay together," he said.
In earlier remarks, Robbins told The San Jose Mercury News: “It’s heavily dependent on [Pac-12]commissioner George Kliavkoff] and his team negotiating a good media deal for us to stay competitive. I don’t think anybody wants to leave. Why would you move for a couple million dollars a year more?”
Big 12 in pursuit
The Big 12 has been public in its attempt to expand to the West Coast and increase its exposure in the Pacific media markets.
Reports connected the Big 12's interest to the two Arizona schools in addition to Utah and Colorado, the latter a former Big 12 member.
Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff took public issue with the Big 12's incursion into its territory, accusing that league of "trying to destabilize our remaining conference."
Big Ten also interested?
And it's not just the Big 12 that has been moving in.
Representatives from Oregon and Washington have already been in contact with Big Ten decision makers about a potential merger, though none of these interests have materialized into any formal offers as of yet.
Stanford has also figured into the Big Ten's speculated interest given the school's international academic prestige, its media market not just in the Bay Area but nationally, and its devoted sports following.
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