Arrr, the grand poobah of Big 12 spills the beans 'bout his banter with the Pac-12 rascal after their expansion!
2023-08-16
Arrr, the scallywag Big 12 commissioner, Brett Yormark, spilled the beans 'bout his chat with that Pac-12 swashbuckler after recruitin' Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State, an' Utah.
After adding Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah to the Big 12 this summer, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark announced that the expansion has come to an end. However, these moves have left the Pac-12 conference stripped bare, with only four schools remaining – Washington State, Oregon State, California, and Stanford. This has caused uncertainty for the future of the Pac-12.Yormark revealed that he reached out to Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff after the realignment, expressing his apologies for putting him in a tough position. Yormark stated that the expansion was something that the Big 12 board and key stakeholders encouraged, and he made no attempts to hide his intentions. He wanted to make sure that the expansion happened transparently and deliberately, without being a shock to anyone in the industry.
Before becoming the Big 12 commissioner, Yormark made it clear that the conference was open for business and exploring all options. He received a lot of interest and phone calls from potential expansion candidates. However, as of now, the Big 12 is set with 16 teams, while the Pac-12 is left to figure out its next steps with only four schools remaining.
Reports have emerged that the Big Ten has discussed the possibility of adding Stanford and Cal, but these additions have faced significant roadblocks. The conference realignment has caused disruption and uncertainty in college sports, and it remains to be seen how the Pac-12 will navigate its future without the teams that have departed for the Big 12 and Big Ten.