One of the most obvious conclusions of the most recent round of conference realignment is that the notion of “alliances” between major conferences is pretty flimsy when push comes to shove. That’s why the Pac-12 is eschewing an alliance for a “partnership,” which will surely work better.
According to Pac-12 insider John Canzano, the Pac-12 Conference CEO Group has been working hard to figure out the next steps following the defection of USC and UCLA to the Big Ten. Their solution might be to form a “loose partnership” with another conference.
Nobody tell them how the alliance between the Big 10, Big 12, and ACC worked out, okay?
While there are no specifics available, it would stand to reason that this partnership would be with either the Big 12 or ACC.
This also comes on the heels of a report that six Pac-12 schools could be considering leaving to join the Big 12. Of course, we’ve all learned by now that conference realignment news comes fast and furious and you never want to trust that you know what’s happening until it actually happens.
It was also announced Tuesday, by the conference itself, that they were going to start looking into negotiating new media rights, leading Canzano to wonder if ESPN and potential TV partners are steering the ship on this “loose partnership.”
However this plays out, there was a notable reaction on social media to the news that the Pac-12 was interested in going the partnership/alliance route instead of learning from past mistakes.
https://twitter.com/lukezim/status/1544458993900441602
Because it worked so well last time… https://t.co/oy2VhYq8eN pic.twitter.com/C2u7UQPBuc
— PodKATT (@valleyshook) July 5, 2022
A loose partnership, eh? Like some kind of… Alliance? https://t.co/nLHC7UEKqP
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) July 5, 2022
The sequel to The Alliance is going to be even worse than the original. https://t.co/v9peAPUzVW
— Barrett Sallee 🇺🇸 (@BarrettSallee) July 5, 2022
The loose partnership with its own remaining members isn’t enough? https://t.co/UzuPmjjhrd
— Mark Ennis (@MarkEnnis) July 5, 2022
So they're gonna do The Alliance but without the group that immediately un-allied them https://t.co/Wyt6N7egk9
— Shehan Jeyarajah (@ShehanJeyarajah) July 5, 2022
https://twitter.com/espn700bill/status/1544434007697289216
Good luck, Pac-12. You’re gonna need it.
