Getty Image / Boyd Ivey
The dominoes continue to fall for the Pac-12 conference.
The Colorado Buffaloes kicked things off this summer when they decided to leave the conference and join the Big 12.
After that it wasn’t long before more teams followed along.
Yesterday the University of Arizona applied to join the Big 12 and was approved.
This morning Oregon and Washington joined the list of defectors as they informed the conference that they plan to leave for the Big 10.
Following that news, it seemed like just a matter of time before more teams starting jumping ship as the Pac-12 conference falls apart.
This afternoon, two more teams have begun working on leaving the Pac-12 for a conference with more opportunities.
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Arizona State and Utah have both applied for formal membership in the Big 12 and there will be a call tonight with the conference’s presidents and chancellors to discuss their membership.
Sources: Both Utah and Arizona State have applied for formal membership to the Big 12 Conference, and there’s a call tonight with the Big 12's presidents and chancellors to discuss their membership. Arizona applied and was approved yesterday.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 4, 2023
After this morning’s news, this was the logical next move in the Pac-12.
The Arizona board of regents wants U of A and ASU to remain in the same conference and there is no reason left for ASU to continue resisting the move.
Arizona State will make more money in the Big 12, get more interesting matchups in basketball, and could make a faster return to relevancy in football in the conference. It also doesn’t hurt that they’ll get to keep their rivalry game.
Utah is in a similar situation, but could actually be one of the conference’s best football teams right away. They have consistently been a top 20 team in the country in recent years and are projected to be one again in 2023.
These two programs leaving the Pac-12 should just about ensure the end of the conference as we know it and will create a whole lot of interesting new matchups in the college sports world.