Pac-12 schools call meeting amid college football realignment frenzy
One of the famous Four Corners is already departing for the Big 12 and now two more could be looking at a way to follow right behind as the pieces of the college football expansion puzzle might be moving again in what has already been a hectic offseason, as the Arizona Board of Regents will have a meeting on Thursday night amid rumors that more teams could leave the Pac-12.
The board that oversees both Arizona and Arizona State will hold an executive session at 9 p.m. local time to review legal advice and have a discussion regarding university athletics.
The exact nature of the meetings is not known, but it's expected that the financial aspects of a move to the Big 12 will be discussed in detail. It will also provide the board with a chance to ask questions about a potential conference change.
For weeks now, both schools have been connected to the Big 12 as that conference goes forward with its own ambitious expansion plans at the same time the remnants of the Pac-12 appear to be looking for a way out of the conference that is yet to secure a media deal and will lose USC, UCLA, and Colorado in 2024.
Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff presented his members with the details of a prospective media rights contract, but schools did not cast a vote on the proposal. Reports suggest the deal would put Pac-12 games on the Apple-owned streaming service, and notably not on regular TV, and would run around $20 million per school.
Rumors of those terms have only intensified speculation that more Pac-12 schools are looking for a way out, with reports that the Big Ten is now directly pursuing Oregon and Washington, as well.
Arizona officials have met with Big 12 officials in recent weeks and school president Robert Robbins said he has spoken with Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark. It is believed that Robbins has the ability to decide alone whether Arizona makes a move that would result in the school being in a different conference than rival Arizona State, but the board is likely to want both schools to move together if a move is to happen.
Insiders have revealed that the Big 12, which teased its intent to add more members soon, has targeted the corner schools, and could get its wish as the trend definitely appears to be towards more schools leaving the West Coast-based league.
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