Report: Pac-12, Big Ten and ACC Could Announce Alliance Next Week

Another big move in college sports

Pac-12 logo
The Pac-12 logo on the court during the championship game of the men's Pac-12 Tournament between the Oregon State Beavers and the Colorado Buffaloes on March 13, 2021, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV.
Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Last month brought with it the news that the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners were in talks to join the SEC, a move which promised to massively shift the balance of power in college sports. By the end of the month, what had previously been rumor was now reality, and fans of college sports waited to see what the next move would be — and how their teams of choice might be affected.

Now, we have a better sense of what to expect. At the Los Angeles Times, J. Brady McCollough reported that the Pac-12, Big Ten and ACC were on the verge of announcing a formal alliance — and that an announcement might come next week.

As McCollough notes, the prospect of interconference matchups between many of these teams would go a long way in keeping media rights for the three conferences valuable.

As The Athletic has observed in its coverage of the changes coming to college sports, this all still leaves the Big 12 in an uncertain position. And, as the report in the Times points out, the AAC might still approach some current members of the Big 12 about shifting conferences.

At a moment in time when college sports are in a state of flux, this is another high-profile move that will have plenty of ramifications on the future of those sports. And it seems very likely that this is far from the last big change on the horizon.

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