Big 12 fans bristle at notion the conference is to blame for Pac-12’s potential demise

Pete Grathoff
·5 min read
22

Perhaps there will be a day sometime in the future when the game of musical chairs known as conference realignment finally ends.

But the music is playing now, and the Pac-12 appears to be on the eve of destruction, even after appearing to get a reprieve. The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach reported Friday morning that “Oregon and Washington’s exit from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten appears to have lost momentum overnight.”

Despite that glimmer of hope for the Pac-12, Brett McMurphy of the Action Network tweeted later on Friday that the conference was “unable to get Grant of Rights signed this morning & ‘nothing has changed’ as far as Oregon & Washington joining Big Ten. ... Ducks & Huskies still expected to be Big Ten bound when finances are worked out, sources said.”

The Pac-12 also is on the verge of losing Arizona.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported “Arizona is in deep discussions about joining the Big 12 ... with a deal expected to be finalized in the near future.” Arizona State potentially could join Arizona in making a move to the Big 12, but that’s far from a certainty.

But all the moves have led to speculation the Pac-12 could join the Southwest Conference in the ash heap of history, and some have pointed a finger at the Big 12 for its role in conference realignment.

Colorado joining the Big 12 could be pointed to as the start of the latest conference movement. But Big 12 fans have bristled at that notion, with many noting just how close the conference came to falling apart more than a decade ago.

This is what is being said on Twitter.