Conference realignment slows as Big 12, Pac-12 may be realizing they’re worth more together than apart
Conference realignment has become an increasingly frustrating attempt to squeeze dollars out of a system that has consolidated resources at the top. The best brands and most of the money are among those 32 teams in the Big Ten and SEC -- and the networks that own their major television rights (ESPN and Fox).
Everything else has become a scramble to the point that one source within the Big 12 said a worst-case scenario would be nothing happening in the league. That would mean staying at 12 teams with BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF In the fold after Texas and Oklahoma leave before the 2025 season.
Some Big 12 athletic directors are worried that the conference's media rights dollars won't stretch far enough to add more programs without their payouts being diminished. Outgoing commissi...