Could the Big XII form a Pac-20?: Investigating the possibilities brings Intrigue

With news breaking about Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby reaching out to the Pac-12 about schedule alignment, or even possibly a merger, the possibilities are there for the Conference to come out strong in the new age.

As if George Kliavkoff has not had enough on his plate with onboarding as Pac-12 Commissioner, he has been thrust right into the spotlight as the Pac-12 is in prime position to capitalize with the conference realignment following the stunning move of Oklahoma and Texas bolting for the SEC.

As you have already seen by now, Oklahoma and Texas leaving the Big 12 has sent shockwaves through the college athletics landscape. The move by the Sooners and Longhorns now has the Big 12 conference trying to regain their footing as their media revenue-generating schools suddenly have left them out to dry.

Arizona Wildcats

Because of that, it is not hard to see why Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby has reached out to the Pac-12, as both conferences have in recent years found themselves fighting for a seat at the proverbial table when it comes to the College Football Playoff.

By potentially joining powers, they could shore up so that as one sound conference, they could provide a quality resume for a playoff contender. Armed with the knowledge that the Playoff is expanding, attention would now turn towards looking at two top seeds potentially making the dance.

With a potential Conference partnership, these are how The New Teams and Divisions could align for the Pac-12.

While putting together the potential Pac-20’s new divisions to include the Big 12, and some other strong programs from the West, I found a need to strengthen ties with the Big 10 and Kevin Warren, by offering them to swap Nebraska for Iowa State and West Virginia.

In doing so, we allow the Easternmost programs a chance to better align with better geographic rivals such as Iowa and Iowa State who would now be together. It would also give West Virginia the chance to build a rivalry with neighbors in Penn State and Ohio State. In taking on Nebraska, we would add a program that seemingly has continuous beef with the Big 10 and it would give them a breath of fresh air.

Additionally, I add in a pair of teams I looked at adding in a previous article in BYU and Boise State, but also in this exercise added San Diego State, UNLV, and Nevada to the fold, to add in some additional great media markets.

In doing so, I came up with five geographically aligned divisions, though for competitive balance sake we could look at balancing at a later point.

The Northwest Division

• Washington
• Washington State
• Oregon
• Oregon State
• Boise State
• Nevada

With the Northwest, we may have the most competitive division in the conference yearly, and one that on paper kind of makes me think AFC North football, as you have the expected powers in Washington and Oregon, but then you have the scrappy underdog in Washington State and Boise State, while Nevada and Oregon State will still likely be a bit of a way off.

However, all the programs should see a boom in its recruiting efforts due to the expanded landscape of adding into the Midwest and Texas.

The Southwest Division

• California
• Stanford
• UCLA
• USC
• San Diego State
• UNLV

Welcome to the division of California and Vegas! UNLV finds themselves with arguably the worst draw as they draw the California schools, which aside from Cal who’s still building back up, look to be contenders for the Pac-12 crown once again.

The Southeast Division

• Arizona
• Arizona State
• Baylor
• Oklahoma State
• TCU
• Texas Tech

The Wildcats seemingly find themselves in yet another difficult division as the geography used in this exercise finds them matching up with the Texas schools and Oklahoma State. On the plus side, this should help them keep their strong ties in Texas, as well as branch out to more of the Midwest.

The Northeast Division

• BYU
• Colorado
• Kansas
• Kansas State
• Nebraska
• Utah

In this division we find Colorado matching up with former Big 12 foes in Kansas, Kansas State, and Nebraska, which could create some great rivalry right out of the gate, as Colorado feels a little out of place rivalry-wise in the Pac-12. However, we do keep their main current rival in Utah in the fold for them as well.

Scheduling

For the schedule, I took a page out of Dave Heeke’s book and looked to the NFL as I tried to find a sound fit for a nine-game conference schedule. Teams would play each team from their division once, and then the team that finished in the same spot in the divisional standings, which would get them to eight games. For the ninth game, it would be a random draw and allow for some intrigue as you could build up a schedule release show like the NFL does, with each team finding out their opponent the night of the show.

The Wrap-up

While the scheduling and divisions are solely focused on Football, don’t sleep on the power that these additions will make to other sports as well. The Pac-12 would surely be seen as the undisputed strongest conference in Women’s Basketball by adding perennial powerhouse Baylor to go along with Arizona, Stanford, Oregon, and UCLA.

In Men’s Basketball, you add the defending National Champs in Baylor, while also netting a blue-blood in Kansas to add to the conference’s arsenal. And finally, Baseball and Volleyball would continue to close the gap on the SEC and Big 10 respectively as the powerhouse of those sports as well.

All in all. a merger with the Big 12 would be a home run for George Kliavkoff, and would put him at a level that Larry Scott could only dream about during his time as commissioner of the Pac-12.