Pac-12 says it won’t expand in latest developoment

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

The announcement comes two days after the ACC, Pac-12 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. The move would coincide with the end of the Big 12’s current television contract.

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 beyond sticking together.

“The decision by Texas and Oklahoma led to significant instability in college athletsics 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. “I think you heard my colleagues in the ACC and Big Ten agree with that position that we need to bring a stability back to college athletics.”

The past few months have brought a wave of significant events in college sports, from a stinging Supreme Court ruling in an antitrust case to the advent of college athletes as paid sponsors.

Meanwhile, the NCAA is in the process of sweeping reform as it tries to redefine its mission and there is a proposal in the pipeline to expand the College Football Playoff from four to 12 teams.

The SEC’s move to add Oklahoma and Texas led to widespread speculation that it could spark a wave of conference realignment across the rest of the Power Five.