So you’re thinking about switching conferences and forever changing the landscape of collegiate athletics — and possibly nudging the Pac-12 to go the way of the dodo.
That’s conceivably the case for Arizona. And Arizona State. And Utah. And even Washington, Oregon, Stanford or Cal. While the last four on that list are now being linked to another possible Big Ten expansion, its the Wildcats, Sun Devils and Utes who have seen their athletic programs, and campuses, directly connected to Big 12 growth in recent weeks.
If all three ultimately do move, they would join Colorado as a quartet of Pac-12 teams departing the self-proclaimed “Conference of Champions” for a league that may just fit the definition of what the Pac-12’s loudest proponent, basketball legend and longtime TV commentator Bill Walton, refers to a “truck stop conference.”
If Arizona does jump, it’ll mark the first time the Wildcats aren’t in either the Pac-10 or Pac-12 in more than 45 years; the UA and ASU jointly left the Western Athletic Conference to help expand the Pac-8 to 10 teams in 1978.
University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins, left, and UA athletic director Dave Heeke wer charged of late with determining if the Big 12 provided a better long-term future for Arizona sports than sticking with the Pac-12. They determined it did.
Change can be exhausting, and it can be perplexing. So we’ll do our best to answer any further questions you might have:
How did it get to this point?
Like most things in life: Money. Last fiscal year, the Pac-12 ranked fifth among Power 5 conferences in revenue distribution to its schools with $37 million. The Big Ten ($58.8 million), SEC ($49.9 million), Big 12 ($44 million) and the ACC ($37.9 million-$41.3 million) finished ahead of the Pac-12.
The driving force in conference realignment — or dismemberment — is media rights. The current Pac-12 media rights deal will expire in July. Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff, who took over for Larry Scott in 2021, hails from a media background, serving as an executive vice president for business at MLB Advanced Media and chief digital officer at NBC Universal and Hulu. Kliavkoff reportedly presented a new media rights proposal to Pac-12 presidents and chancellors that included the Pac-12 streaming its athletic events on Apple, with a baseline share of $20 million per school.
USC and UCLA, which both simultaneously bolted for the Big Ten last summer, could potentially earn up to $100 million annually.
Plus, the Big 12’s six-year media rights contract with ESPN and Fox that’s set to start in 2025 will provide each school with a $31.7 million share. Colorado, which announced it’s Pac-12 departure just a week ago, is expected to earn $42 million in revenue share as part of the Big 12, according to Action Network’s Brett McMurphy, in addition to money from media rights.
Who’s leading the charge?
Brett Yormark, a 56-year-old New Jersey native, took over as Big 12 commissioner last August. Yormark has a business background working with Brooklyn Sports Entertainment and Roc Nation (founded by Jay-Z). As CEO of Brooklyn Sports Entertainment, Yormark assisted in the transition for the the New York Islanders and then-New Jersey Nets to play home games at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, and he also was a part of deals that attracted UFC, the NCAA Tournament and conference basketball tournaments, among other events, to Brooklyn.
The University of Arizona is officially leaving the Pac-12 — a conference it has called home since 1978 — and joining the Big 12.
Yormark was also a vice president of corporate marketing for NASCAR and led the race car-driving league to a 10-year, $750 million sponsorship deal with Nextel Communications.
After his stint as Roc Nation’s CEO and president of business operations and strategy, Yormark became the Big 12 commissioner. Less than three months into his role, Yormark led the Big 12 to a six-year, $2.28 billion media rights agreement with Fox and ESPN.
Who are members of the Big 12?
Although the Big 12 is losing traditional football powers in Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC after this upcoming season, the conference is adding BYU, Cincinnati, Central Florida and Houston this season. Cincinnati’s football program became the first non-Power 5 team to make the College Football Playoff in 2021, while Houston men’s basketball, a powerhouse in the 1980s, has returned to form of late. The Cougars reached the 2021 Men’s Final Four.
If Arizona joins the Big 12, the Wildcats’ conference foes will become the aforementioned schools, along with Kansas, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Texas Tech, Baylor, TCU, Iowa State and West Virginia.
Marvin Cassler says he comes every year to cheer on the Arizona Wildcats in the Pac-12 tournament at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. He travels from North Salt Lake City for football and basketball games. Cassler was born and raised in Tucson but is not an alum of the University of Arizona. Thursday March 10, 2016.
WVU was previously a part of the Big East, then joined the Big 12 in 2012; TCU left Mountain West to join the Big 12 in the same year.
The Big 12 plays its football championship at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. The Big 12 Tournament for men’s basketball is played at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
Are these schools easily accessible for fans from Pac-12 country?
Arizona fans are well-traveled, especially when it comes to their beloved men’s basketball program.
Traveling in the Big 12 won’t include airports in West Coast cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco or Seattle, but rather Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Cincinnati and Orlando.
At the moment, Washington State is Arizona’s farthest conference opponent; Pullman is 1,061 miles away from Tucson.
Among Big 12 schools, UCF, located in Orlando, is just over 2,000 miles away from Tucson; West Virginia, in Morgantown, is under 2,100 from the Old Pueblo, and two — sometimes three — time zones away. Pittsburgh International Airport is the closest major hub to Morgantown at about an 80-mile drive away.
Arizona Wildcats guard Bennedict Mathurin (0) hangs on the rim over TCU Horned Frogs center Eddie Lampkin (4) following his second half dunk in the second round of the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament on March 20, 2022 in San Diego.
Who will be Arizona’s non-ASU rival?
The Arizona-UCLA men’s basketball rivalry isn’t an annual tradition after this season, but the Wildcats could carve out rivalries with blueblood Kansas, among others. The Big 12 sent seven teams to the NCAA Tournament this past season; four teams, including the UA, participated in March Madness.
The Jayhawks and Wildcats have a combined 88 NCAA Tournament appearances, 20 Final Fours and five national championships. Arizona is 4-8 all-time against Kansas. The Wildcats’ most recent notable bout with a Big 12 school was an overtime victory over TCU in the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
Former UA point guard Kerr Kriisa, who’s now at West Virginia, infamously walked off the Viejas Arena court in San Diego gesturing TCU’s Horned Frogs hand sign upside down at fans.
After leading the Wildcats to a national championship appearance, Arizona women’s basketball coach Adia Barnes was offered a hefty contract at Baylor to replace Kim Mulkey, who’s now at LSU, but the UA reworked Barnes’ contract and gave her a five-year, $5.85 million deal.
The UA football program’s most recent history with the Big 12 includes a home win over Texas Tech in 2019 and a blowout victory against Oklahoma State during Rich Rodriguez’s first season as UA head coach in 2012.
Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff delivers his opening address and takes questions from media on hand in Las Vegas Friday, July 21, 2023 as part of Pac-12 football media day. Video courtesy Pac-12
