The mass exodus from the Pac-12 continues.
Nearly a week after Colorado bolted the Pac-12 for the Big 12, and hours after Oregon and Washington defected to the Big Ten, the trio of Arizona, Arizona State and Utah followed suit as they officially became members of the Big 12 on Friday night.
Big 12 Conference Adds Arizona, Arizona State and Utah pic.twitter.com/Or4ypfW7d8
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) August 5, 2023
The Wildcats, Sun Devils and Utes will begin play in the conference in the 2024-25 season. With the additions of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah, the Big 12 will become a 16-member conference.
“We are thrilled to welcome Arizona, Arizona State and Utah to the Big 12,” commissioner Brett Yormark said in a statement. “The Conference is gaining three premier institutions both academically and athletically, and the entire Big 12 looks forward to working alongside their presidents, athletic directors, student-athletes and administrators.”
The Athletic reported that Oregon and Washington's decision to leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten on Friday morning "forced a change of heart for leadership at the three schools" after leadership at Oregon and Washington denied an opportunity to stick together and save the conference. That decision allowed the Big 12 to pursue agreements with all three universities.
After the Big 12 convinced Colorado to leave the Pac-12 last week, commissioner Brett Yormark and the conference continued their pursuit of Arizona, Arizona State and Utah. Yormark and the conference have been determined to expand west since last summer, when the Pac-12 lost USC and UCLA to the Big Ten. The Athletic reported that the Big 12 was expected to stop expansion at 16 members after landing the so-called “Four Corners” schools, though Wildcat Authority’s Jason Scheer reported that the Big 12 could approve further expansion to 18 schools, with Gonzaga and UConn being potential options as basketball-only members.
Arizona has long been a priority target for the Big 12, but Arizona president Robert C. Robbins needed to see the terms of a proposed Pac-12 media rights deal before making a decision about his school’s future. According to ESPN, Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff presented the conference with a number of media rights deal options on Tuesday, including a primarily subscription-based deal with Apple. The Big 12’s board voted to approve Arizona as a new member during a meeting on Thursday, per The Athletic.
Arizona State president Michael Crow and university leadership previously expressed loyalty to the Pac-12 and had no interest in changing leagues. Utah athletic director Mark Harlan reaffirmed his commitment to staying in the conference during the Pac-12’s media day in Las Vegas on July 21. However, that all changed on Friday.
The death of the Pac-12 now seems inevitable, as Cal, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State are the conference's only remaining members that have not accepted an invitation to a new conference. That said, the Pac-12 will still have one more season of athletics with its current 12 members before Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah join the Big 12 and USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington join the Big Ten.
