When Texas and Oklahoma made the decision to leave the Big 12 for the SEC in July 2021, the move sent shockwaves within the college football landscape.
Like the two powerhouse Big 12 programs, USC and UCLA—two blueblood Pac-12 programs—made the decision to leave the West Coast league to join the Big Ten in June. However, prior to the two Los Angeles-based programs bolting, USC president Carol Folt was part of committee assembled last summer to determine if the Pac-12 should expand and add schools from the Big 12.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff constructed a meeting with three presidents that included Folt and three athletic directors to determine the fate of the league’s expansion efforts. Nearly 15 minutes into a Zoom call in discussing a hourlong presentation, Folt explicitly stated that she was surprised the league was talking about expansion and was not sure why the league wanted to expand, and she reportedly “shut down” the talks.
