Pac-12 realignment negotiations are already underway, according to Stanford president Marc Tessier-Lavigne.
While nothing is imminent on the issue, Tessier-Lavigne obviously speaks with authority and says negotiations are ongoing at Faculty Senate meetings.
“There is a lot that’s happening behind closed doors right now,” Tessier-Lavigne told the Stanford Daily. “I am not at liberty to divulge those except to say that the 10 universities are focused on working with our commissioner to strike a deal that would be good for the conference, but more importantly good for our student-athletes.”
The conference adding some teams to replace UCLA and USC’s exit seems much more likely a scenario than the conference choosing to stand pat.
Speaking on Monday’s The Dan Patrick Show, sports journalist Dan Patrick said that San Diego State joining the conference could be announced as soon as Thursday. That report, however, was immediately debunked.
The Pac-12 recently lost the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins, who jilted the conference to join the Big Ten in 2024. The Pac-12 lasted added members in 2011 when the Colorado Buffaloes and the Utah Utes joined the conference.
The 2022 Pac-12 championship football game is scheduled for Dec. 2nd at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
