Pac-12 is standing pat with 12 teams

The Pac-12 said Thursday it will stand pat with its membership and not look to expand the 12-team conference, making it highly unlikely that the Big 12 schools left behind by Texas and Oklahoma will find new Power Five homes.

The announcement comes two days after the Pac-12, Atlantic Coast Conference and Big Ten pledged to work together on governance issues and scheduling agreements in football and basketball.

The formation of a three-conference alliance came a little less than a month after the Southeastern Conference invited Texas and Oklahoma to join the league in 2025.

With Pac-12 expansion off the board, and both the ACC and Big Ten stating publicly that they are content with their current membership, the eight remaining Big 12 schools appear to have limited options.

“The decision by Texas and Oklahoma led to significant instability in college athletics and I don’t think instability is good for college athletics, particularly given all the other issues that are facing us right now,” Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff told the Associated Press.

Kilavkoff declined to say which schools had reached out to the Pac-12, or even how many.

Big 12 expansion plans under way

The Big 12 will throw its energy into looking at potential new members, Texas Tech athletics director Kirby Hocutt said.

Hocutt is part of a fourperson expansion subcommittee tasked with leading the effort, which starts immediately.

“Right now, our complete focus is to make the Big 12 as strong as it can possibly be,” Hocutt said, “and I expect that Texas Tech will play a leadership role in that. We’re going to continue to be part of the power-five structure in college athletics.”

Hocutt said Baylor AD Mack Rhoades and the Iowa State and Kansas university presidents are the others on the subcommittee.

Describing the group as already “active,” Hocutt said they will meet with the Big 12 presidents early Friday.

Texas lands 4-star lineman

Texas on Thursday picked up a commitment from 2022 four-star defensive lineman Aaron Bryant, regarded as a top-50 lineman in the current recruiting cycle.

The Southaven (Miss.) senior ranks No. 9 in the state and No. 46 at defensive lineman, per the 247Sports composite.