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The Pac-12 plans to respond to the exit of the University of Colorado by adding new members.
After completing a long-awaited media rights deal, the Pac-12 will “embrace expansion opportunities,” according to a statement made hours after Colorado voted to leave the conference for the Big 12.
“We remain committed to our shared values and to continuing to invest in our student-athletes,” the statement read. “Today’s decision by the University of Colorado has done nothing to disrupt that commitment.”
Pac-12 Conference @pac12
Statement from the Pac-12 Conference: pic.twitter.com/up5hjSD1ek
The Pac-12 is the only Power Five conference without a long-term media rights deal since October, when the Big 12 signed an extension through 2031 with ESPN and Fox.
There was no deal announced at last Friday’s Pac-12 football media day, but expectation remains of an announcement in the “near future,” per ESPN’s Heather Dinich. The Pac-12’s current deal with ESPN and Fox is set to expire in July 2024.
After completing the deal, the remaining members of the Pac-12 will need to finalize the grant of rights, which includes media revenue sharing rules, that the schools agreed to in June.
Once those steps are completed, the Pac-12 can consider expanding. That will likely be a necessary step for the conference’s survival, with membership dropping to nine in 2024 as USC and UCLA join the Big Ten and Colorado heads to the Big 12.
The remaining members of the Pac-12 include Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, Utah, Washington and Washington State.
Action Network’s Brett McMurphy described Arizona, Arizona State and Utah as the “most likely” candidates to follow Colorado out of the conference. Arizona president Robert Robbins met with Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark in April, per McMurphy.
When asked about the news of Colorado’s exit from the Pac-12, Robbins told The Athletic’s Max Olson yesterday that the school, and other conference members, were waiting to evaluate the pending media rights deal.
Max Olson @max_olson
Just spoke with Arizona president Robert C. Robbins about today’s Colorado news.
“All I keep saying is, you know, we’re just waiting to get a deal. And then everybody has to evaluate the deal on its merits. I’ve been pretty steadfast in that stance.”
Before adding new members, Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff will likely need to focus on keeping these nine schools in the conference. That starts with a lucrative media deal that, according to Dinich’s sources, “is likely to include a mix of streaming and linear options and is expected to be on-par with the ACC and Big 12.”
The Pac-12 might need to live up to that claim in order to keep other members from following in USC, UCLA and Colorado’s steps.
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