With Colorado set to leave the Pac-12 to join its former conference, the Big 12, there’s plenty of speculation regarding the next shoe to drop in conference realignment.
How vulnerable is the Pac-12 with Colorado on the way out? Are more teams willing to bolt? After all, Colorado is the third team to spurn the conference, joining UCLA and USC who will join the Big 10 beginning in 2024.
Amid the chaos, here are the three best options to join Colorado in the Big 12, which now sits at 13 members.
1. Arizona
The Wildcats have consistently come up in rumors as a potential flight risk to the conference. Arizona had reportedly been in contact with the Big 12, but communication has “waned of late,” per Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger. Arizona is waiting on Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff to present a new television deal before making any decisions, Dellenger noted, with the current television rights contract set to expire at the end of this football season.
Sports Illustrated‘s Pat Forde noted that a source said that it seems far more likely that the Big 12 poaches Arizona than Utah, another target of rumors.
The Wildcats could potentially be had, but is the Big 12 willing to wait on them for the new television contract?
Maybe, maybe not.
2. San Diego State
Is San Diego State a big enough brand-name football program for the Big 12? Are the Aztecs still looking for a way to leave the Mountain West following their dalliance with the Pac-12 earlier this summer?
The Aztecs were all but ready to leave for greener pastures until the official invitation from the Pac-12 never came by the June 30 deadline. Now that the date has come and gone, San Diego State’s exit fee in the Mountain West has doubled from $17 million to around $35 million, according to Dellenger. That figure now stands as a clear hindrance to heading elsewhere.
But if San Diego State wants out bad enough, could the school still be had? The Big 12 may at least kick the tires to see if the Aztecs are still interested in joining a Power 5 conference.
3. UConn. Yes, UConn.
UConn is a football program currently in the midst of a rebuild, attempting to escape the depths of the sport behind veteran coach Jim Mora. The rise from the bottom of the FBS is a steep one for a school known to be a basketball power, fresh off a national championship on the hardwood.
The basketball aspect of UConn would be appealing to a Big 12 conference that already includes some of the nation’s top programs, from Kansas to Baylor, a UConn inclusion would mean the conference would be home to the last three national champions.
The football program poses a bigger challenge given its struggles. However, multiple reports, including one from Forde, have indicated that Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark is enamored with the potential of bringing UConn into the fold. However, given the struggles on the gridiron, the Huskies may still be a tough sell.
