After failing to control its own destiny, Pac12 sees Big 12 hold their fate in the palm of their Heartland Hands
Tuesday, July 5th looms large for the remaining 10 schools in the PAC-12 Conference as the Big 12 Conference will reportedly meet with four institutions from the Four Corners of the United States.
The reversal of roles from almost twelve months ago between the Big 12 and PAC-12 is some juicy irony given that certain West Coast schools didn’t want to associate with the reeling conference covering the American Plains. That fateful decision from the PAC-12 and it’s schools not to expand into Central Time Zone in 2021 was the beginning of the end for the so-called “Conference of Champions.”
The networks of FOX and ESPN wanted for PAC-12 expansion to occur in 2021, but when that didn’t happen the plans were put in place for USC and UCLA to leave for the Big Ten Conference. While the PAC-12 fiddled seeing their conference burning, the Big 12 became the obvious choice for the networks to use as a means to finish off the storied conference. The Big 12 becoming the executioner of the PAC-12 only seems appropriate after the events of 2021.
With Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah meeting with the Big 12 on Tuesday there’s a certain air of inevitability that we’ll see an announcement on Thursday or Friday for the Big 12 to become a 16-team conference. This Big 12 westward expansion is a great retcon of the Manifest Destiny our country experienced in the 19th Century complete with the tragic circumstances left for those with no cavalry to save them.
The endgame for the Big 12 is getting Oregon and Washington and there’s some interesting Game Theory you can indulge in with that scenario. Will Oregon and Washington offer themselves to take significantly smaller payouts from the Big Ten or do they want to chart their own course and head to the Big 12 as one of the proverbial “Big Dogs” of the conference?
The two Pacific Northwest schools will be offered a choice this week: new slots in the Big 12 or hope for a Big Ten invite that may never show up and be stuck in the Mountain West Conference? This week ought to be fun to follow.
Allen Corbin
Allen Corbin resides along the Wasatch Mountain range in Salt Lake City, UT. He covered Texas Tech Football and Basketball from 2008-2015 and is currently a recovering sports radio host and newsreader.
