Stanford and Cal are Exploring Possibility of Joining Big 12: Report
Is the Big 12 done expanding? Despite Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark recently saying the Big 12 is done with expansion, he may have two new options to consider.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Stanford and Cal have begun looking into the possibility of joining the Big 12. The report indicated that if Stanford and Cal aren’t invited to the ACC by the middle of next week, that their discussions with the Big 12 will get that much more serious. If they do end up heading towards the Big 12 option, Michael Silver of the SF Chronicle also reported that Oregon State and Washington State would also be joining them as well.
While the ACC may have more appeal to Stanford and Cal due to academic prestige, the travel for the Big 12 would be much less given the league’s recent additions. The Big 12 recently added the “Four Corner” schools in Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State, bringing the league to 16 teams.
On the ACC front, the conference reportedly met to discuss adding Cal, Stanford and SMU. ESPN’s Pete Thamel recently reported that the middle of next week could be a “soft deadline” for the ACC to make a decision on these three schools.
If that deadline does come and go, expect the rumors around the Big 12 Conference to pick up right as Week 1 is set to kick off next week.
But the Big 12 is clearly operating from a position of strength, as the league does not “need” to expand right now following its recent pick ups. It is also notable that the Big 12 contract stated that if the Big 12 adds any team from a Power 5 conference, that team receives a full payout from the league’s TV contract, which is about $32 million.
