Here’s one possible outcome for the left behind members of the Big XII.
According to multiple reports, the commissioners of the Pac-12 and Big 12 met Tuesday to discuss how the conferences might benefit from working together or maybe even merging.
The merging part has us very interested.
A full merger of the Big 12 and Pac-12 would create a 20-team conference with schools in every major U.S. time zone, something no other conference has.
That would make it unique and very different and potentially pretty valuable in the ever-important TV contract discussions for conferences.
What could a Big 12 and Pac-12 merger look like?
Here’s some possibilities to split up the conference, should the Pac-12 and Big 12 decide it is in their best interests to join forces.
You can read the rest. There’s lots of reasons why this probably won’t happen, but it’s at least amusing to contemplate. We live in very strange times.
Also in the “we live in strange sports times” news department:
American Athletic Conference commissioner Mike Aresco said the league has never “plotted” with ESPN to pursue teams from other conferences.
“Our conference has never strategically aligned or plotted with ESPN to influence conference structures,” Aresco said Wednesday during a video conference call to kickoff AAC media day.
Aresco said the AAC is not actively looking to add schools.
“I want to emphasize we are not looking at realignment and not out there attempting to take teams,” Aresco said.
[…]
Aresco said he has not spoken to any Big 12 schools.
“Any suggestions or statements that we colluded with ESPN with regards to the structure of any other conference is completely unfounded and grossly irresponsible accusation,” Aresco said.
See here for the background on that. We’ll see if Bob Bowlsby provides some receipts for that initial claim. In the meantime, if the AAC and every other conference isn’t thinking about realignment and what they might do about it, I don’t know what they are doing. I’m not saying they should want to live in this ever-religning world, but I am saying it is the world they are in fact living in, and they should adjust accordingly.
42 days and counting……..