Hours after Oregon and Washington finalized plans to jump from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten, the West Coast-based Power 5 conference is set to face another major blow. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports that Arizona State and Utah have applied for membership in the Big 12.
The Big 12 presidents and chancellors will discuss the two programs on a Friday night call, Thamel reports.
The Big 12 kicked off this recent round of conference realignment by adding a former member, Colorado, from the Pac-12. Arizona followed suit on Thursday, applying and receiving approval to join the league, per Thamel.
These moves come on the heels of the first major blow to the Pac-12 a year ago, when UCLA and USC announced their upcoming move to the Big Ten. The moves are set to become official ahead of the 2024 college football season.
Assuming all of the Pac-12 departures move forward, Cal, Oregon State, Stanford and Washington State will be the only four teams remaining with the league for the time being.
