What’s next for Big Ten, Pac-12 and Big 12 in college football expansion?
By Ryan Kay
Could the Pac-12 add Big 12 schools?
If the Pac-12 is able to form a stable and reliable alliance with the ACC and gets a new media rights deal for a substantial increase in money, the Pac-12 could look to the Big 12 for expansion.
BREAKING: The Pac-12 and ACC have discussed a "loose partnership" that could include a championship game in Las Vegas, per @CBSSports.
— PFF College (@PFF_College) July 6, 2022
The ACC reportedly proposed the move in an effort to boost the conferences' media rights value to ESPN. pic.twitter.com/wYIBbvLPaf
If the Pac-12 and ACC would have a championship game in Las Vegas between its conference champions, it would in essence create a conference with the Pac-12 being the West division and the ACC being the East division. Also, if the Pac-12 and ACC come to an alliance on a new media rights agreement, the Pac-12 will be able to not only survive these new rounds of conference expansion but also expand itself by possibly adding some Big 12 teams.
. Jayhawks . . team. 821. .
AAU Member: Yes
Top 40 Revenue School: No (#51)
Top 120 Academic National University: No (#122 tied)
Top 30 tv/streaming market: No (#34)
The truth is that Kansas is an AAU school and has a blue blood basketball program that is not a true replacement for UCLA but adding the Jayhawks to replace the Bruins makes some sense. Kansas may be looking for a change due to their football program not having little to any success on the field in recent years. Kansas is not considered a high-end academic institution but they are not a low-end academic performing university either. They are considered a lower-tier athletic revenue-producing school among Power Five conferences but the Pac-12 could overlook that. It would not be shocking if Kansas were to leave the Big 12 for the Pac-12 but certain things would have to take shape if it were to occur.
. . . Cyclones . . team. 837
AAU Member: Yes
Top 40 Revenue School: Yes (#35)
Top 120 Academic National University: No (#122 tied)
Top 30 tv/streaming market: No (#68)
Why would Iowa State and its football program want to join the Pac-12? It would help them recruit the state of California. Playing conference games in California and in West Coast schools gives the Cyclones more opportunities to recruit in the most populous state in America. Some can argue that Iowa State would be an interesting fit as it would expand the Pac-12 into the Big Ten territory.
It is not the same as the Big Ten breaking into the Los Angeles market but it would be a symbolic move that the Pac-12 is invested in expanding further east. Iowa State is a very solid football program and has played great football as of late and they do have a very passionate fan base which would be welcomed by the Pac-12.
They also have the No. 35 athletic generating revenue program which is not bad among Power Five conferences but the Cyclones have the same hurdles that Kansas has and a move to the Pac-12 may help generate revenue for their program. Like the Jayhawks, the Cyclones leaving the Big 12 to join the Pac-12 may not be as a far-fetched idea as some may think.
team. 856. . . . Cowboys .
AAU Member: No
Top 40 Revenue School: Yes (#32)
Top 120 Academic National University: No (#187)
Top 30 tv/streaming market: No (#61)
The biggest surprise of this group of three schools mentioned to possibly join the Pac-12 would be Oklahoma State. The Cowboys are not AAU members like Kansas and Iowa State and they are not even a top 180 academically ranked school. Out of the 65 Power Five schools, they are ranked in the middle in terms of revenue-generating schools, at No. 32. The nearest closest major market city is Oklahoma City which is over an hour’s drive and only ranked 44th in the Nielsen TV market rankings. However, the Cowboys have a very solid football program that has had success on the football field for over a decade as well as some for their basketball program.
The Pac-12 will not be very selective like the Big Ten and SEC in conference expansion in who it is thinking about adding to the conference but the Cowboys may not be near the top of their list. But, if the Pac-12 were to add some teams from the Big 12 like Iowa State to help boost their overall competitiveness in football for their conference, Oklahoma State could be a good addition for the Pac-12.
The big question however is, will the Big Ten continue to add more teams to their conference or will they stop at two, like how the SEC did when they added Oklahoma and Texas last summer? The answer is surprising to all that follow college football.