The future of college football amid conference realignment remains a hot topic — not least in the Pac-12, where the remaining nine schools are currently weighing media rights options and pondering whether to jump ship to a rival league.
On Thursday night, the Arizona Board of Regents will meet for a second time this week to potentially discuss the University of Arizona and Arizona State moving to the Big 12. A meeting agenda includes a section “discussion regarding university athletics.”
An industry source recently told Front Office Sports that Apple’s reported proposal for Pac-12 media rights is still “going to be tough on reach and distribution priorities.” Beginning in 2025, the Big 12 will be bringing in at least $380 million annually from ESPN and Fox.
Big 12 Not The Only Hunter
Also meeting Thursday night is the University of Washington Board of Regents. The Huskies are targets of the Big Ten, which is back in the conference expansion game and also looking at Washington’s southern neighbors, the University of Oregon.
Meanwhile, Florida State president Richard McCullough made an intriguing comment on Wednesday: “I believe FSU will have to at some point consider very seriously leaving the ACC unless there were a radical change to the revenue distribution.”
The ACC’s long-term deal with ESPN — about $240 million annually — will put it fourth behind the Big Ten, SEC, and Big 12 once it kicks in. “I’m not that optimistic that we’ll be able to stay,” McCullough added.
