FORT WORTH, Texas — TCU and the other Big 12 schools looking for a new home won’t be landing in the Pac-12 anytime soon.
The Pac-12 announced Thursday afternoon that its leaders “made the decision to not pursue expansion of our membership at this time.”
“This decision was made after extensive internal discussion and analysis, and is based on the current competitive strength and cohesiveness of our 12 universities,” the Pac-12 said. “It is also grounded in our confidence in our ability as a conference to best support our student-athletes and to grow and thrive both academically and athletically.”
That is a blow to TCU and other Big 12 schools that remain in limbo with Texas and Oklahoma departing the league in the summer of 2025, at the latest.
The Frogs’ best bet appeared to be landing a spot in the Pac-12 given their strong ties to the West Coast. TCU could have sold the Pac-12 on the importance of expanding its footprint into Texas. Instead, that sales pitch will be put on hold.
TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati could not be reached for comment regarding the Pac-12’s decision.
Now, though, it’s time to move forward in the Big 12. The best route for the league’s long-term viability is to expand on its own.
It’s unlikely that the Big 12 would be able to poach any school from another Power Five league, so it would have to take the best of the rest.
BYU, Houston, Cincinnati and Central Florida would appear to be likely targets in expansion. Memphis, South Florida, Colorado State, Boise State and San Diego State also should garner interest in expansion talks.
While some of the remaining eight Big 12 schools could continue working back channels to see if other options exist, it appears that the Pac-12, ACC and Big Ten are not interested in expansion. Those three leagues formed an “alliance” earlier in the week to provide stability during an unstable time for college athletics.
The SEC grew to 16 schools with the additions of UT and OU but the other leagues won’t follow that model. At least for now.
The Pac-12 is at 12 schools with the ACC and Big Ten both at 14.
The Big 12 considered its expansion options in 2016 and listened to pitches from many of the aforementioned schools, but ultimately decided to stick with 10 members. This time around, they’ll need to extend a few invites.
