Did Pac-12 schools isolate Oregon and Washington, forcing them to join Big Ten? Analyzing theories around the CFB insider's latest reports

The Pac-12 has been dealing with a myriad of issues throughout the years, but things seem to be coming to a conclusion. Eight of the 12 programs will be playing for a new conference beginning in 2024, including seeing Oregon and Washington join the Big Ten.

Action Network's Brett McMurphy tweeted that an unnamed Pac-12 president contacted a Big 12 president and asked to take seven of the nine remaining programs at the time. The Big 12 added the Colorado Buffaloes, Arizona Wildcats, Arizona State Sun Devils and Utah Utes during the offseason.

Brett McMurphy

@Brett_McMurphy

How committed was Pac-12 to staying together? Following last Tuesday’s meeting w/commish George Kliavkoff, a Pac-12 president contacted a Big 12 president & asked if Big 12 “could take all (9) of us, except for Oregon State & Washington State?" source told @ActionNetworkHQ

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How committed was Pac-12 to staying together? Following last Tuesday’s meeting w/commish George Kliavkoff, a Pac-12 president contacted a Big 12 president & asked if Big 12 “could take all (9) of us, except for Oregon State & Washington State?" source told @ActionNetworkHQ

This response by a Pac-12 president seems to show that there is either a rift between teams or that the president understands the difference in value between programs. This does not mean much as Oregon State and Washington State are going to remain with the Pac-12 as it stands with very little value to expanding conferences.

In terms of Oregon and Washington, the divide and stature of the remaining teams definitely was one of the reasons to join Big Ten. If the two teams were to be the leaders of the conference, they would be asking to take less money per year and not be viewed as serious contenders in the college football world.

What does this mean for the remaining four Pac-12 teams?

The four teams that are still in the conference - Oregon State, Washington State, California and Stanford - do not provide much value to other Power Five conferences. Without assuming who the anonymous president is, it feels like it would not be a team still present. It would not be a team in a good position to leave by itself like Colorado or Utah.

Another theory that goes with this report is that these four remaining teams are not planning on staying together. California and Stanford could be working together to find a new conference and avoid being with Oregon State and Washington State. Being the two California teams remaining, they would be likelier to stick together.

Having these four teams stay together and keep the Conference of Champions alive feels like an unlikely situation. If they are able to merge with the American Athletic Conference, things could stay alive for the Pac-12. This theory would be something Commissioner George Kliavkoff would like as they can continue the conference and get an expansion with a media deal attached.

There are a lot of different things that these four teams can figure out going forward. Oregon State and Washington State do not seem to be Power Five teams, and that is a huge blow for them if the conference officially disbanded. Whatever the future is for the Pac-4 teams, there seems to be a bit of a rift right now that needs to be fixed.

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