The Great Realignment: Pac-12’s Collapse and Big 12’s Rise
In a move that would have been unthinkable a decade ago, the heart of West Coast college sports has shifted eastward, redefining the future of the Big 12.
The collapse of the Pac-12 and the aggressive expansion of the Big 12 mark one of the most dramatic shifts in the history of college athletics. As financial pressures, media rights deals and shifting priorities reshape the landscape, schools that once defined West Coast sports culture are now finding a new home and a new identity in the Big 12. This realignment signals more than just a change of conferences; it reflects the future of college sports, where tradition takes a back seat to survival, exposure and opportunity.
Sports fans witnessed the fall of the Pac-12 at the close of the 2024 spring season. In an unfortunate turn of events, the conference struggled to renew its media rights deal, prompting many schools to jump ship and find new conferences to call home. Of those 12 teams, the University of Colorado, University of Arizona, Arizona State University and the University of Utah joined the Big 12. Facing a shortage of television deals, and the revenue that comes with them, many schools had little choice but to find new conferences.
Cory Hilliard, University of Colorado’s athletic director for business operations, said, “Obviously the big one is tied to the media rights deal, so as the Pac-12 was kind of clunky going through that process knowing that there's some strategy between like when the SEC and the Big Ten were doing their media rights, we had to make sure that we're in a conference that was going to be able to compete at that level with the revenue stream that comes with that.”
The strategy of finding a new conference with strong media rights came at a cost: leaving behind years of loyalty and traditions, which was hard on some teams.
“We will gladly state that we were the most loyal and stayed along around the longest with hope that it would get itself figured out. But you know, when it came to a point where it wasn't going to get figured out, it was time for us to make a move,” said Doug Tammaro, senior associate athletic director of Arizona State.
A major factor in the schools' decision to join the Big 12 was the conference’s existing television deal with ESPN and Fox, which guaranteed greater stability and exposure. Beyond traditional broadcasts, the partnership with ESPN+ offered an additional platform to showcase games, generate revenue and reach a broader audience.
“Going back to the more traditional ESPN, structured contract like the Big 12, has made more sense. And so it was really that was the financial piece that was driving it all,” said Hilliard.
The shift to ESPN piqued a lot of the teams’ interest because it was stable and it opened up a whole new market with ESPN+, rather than just the Pac-12 Network, which was a rare commodity on cable TV.
“Having ESPN+, it would give more exposure to all of our Olympic sports teams, because all of those games, while we we produce them, will go on ESPN+ so they can be viewed nationally on that platform, and the Pac-12 Network wasn't a very good channel for us to have those sports on, and it really wasn't that beneficial to those sports teams,” said Rick George, Colorado’s athletic director.
For nearly every team making the jump from the Pac-12 to the Big 12, this media partnership was seen as a game-changing advantage.
“The other major change that I was involved with was the creation of Utes Productions to self-produce and deliver 50 digital broadcasts to ESPN+ in the 2024-25 academic year. Our department has come together to achieve this goal, and I think our fans have made the transition well to find a large number of our games on the ESPN+ platform,” said Paul Kirk, Utah’s senior associate athletics director for strategic communications.
As hard as realignment can be with the loss of markets, tradition and rivalries, having four teams make the move together provided a sense of comfort and familiarity. The shared history between Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah offered a built-in support system as they entered a new conference landscape. Existing rivalries could continue, familiar faces remained on schedules, and athletic departments could navigate the transition together.
“We're glad that Colorado, Utah and Arizona are
part of it. That kind of made the transition easier.
When this first all came down, you know,
I was on a call, and if I would have been the only s
chool joining the league, it just would have been
kind of been fearful, you know, you just don't know
what you're getting into. It was nice to have our
friends on that call, you know, friends personally
that I had worked with, and also just friends as
schools and rivals,” said Tammaro.
Still, the adjustment wasn’t without its challenges,
as each program now faces new competition,
unfamiliar travel demands and the pressure
of building a new identity within the Big 12. The travel aspect was one of the hardest things to navigate, as the University of Central Florida also joined the Big 12, which now has teams ranging all over the United States.
“Travel was something we looked at in advance as we were preparing the financial statements, to consider the distance and time to travel to and from Boulder to those new member institutions and so similar stories you've seen from like Cal and Stanford now having to travel all the way across the country to compete in the ACC that comes at a cost, financially and physically on the student-athletes and the staff,” said Hilliard.
Average travel for teams within the Pac-12 was 914 miles. Now, in the expanded Big 12, teams average 1,140 miles. This was certainly a factor every team had to consider carefully, making sure the move would be manageable for their coaches, student-athletes and athletic budgets.
While the transition brought its share of uncertainty and challenges, it has ultimately been a smooth and positive move. Big 12 teams have welcomed the new members with open arms, and the conference leadership has offered consistent support, helping schools navigate everything from scheduling to marketing as they settle into their new home.
“Us and the other schools in the Big 12 had to act to strengthen our standing in the world of college athletics and ensure that we had a bright and secure future and the joining of the Pac-12 schools secure our future,” said Matt Wells, West Virginia’s deputy athletics director for external affairs.
The excitement shown by the core Big 12 schools played a key role in easing the transition, creating a smoother adjustment for both the incoming teams and the conference itself.
“The Big 12 has done an unbelievable job of not only embracing us, but they've also done a great job of making us feel like we can help them,” said Tammaro.
As the conference wraps up its first year with its expanded membership, the early results show a revitalized Big 12 — stronger, more unified and more prepared for the future of college athletics. The challenges of longer travel, new competition and lost traditions have been met with resilience and optimism from both the original and new members. With a stable media partnership, a growing national presence and a renewed sense of purpose, the Big 12 has positioned itself not just to survive, but to thrive in an ever-changing college sports landscape. If the first year is any indication, the future for the Big 12 and its newest members looks bright.
