BOULDER, Colo. — Every day that goes by without a media rights deal in place is bad news for the Pac-12, as they continue to do whatever they can to keep the 10 member schools intact following the departure of USC and UCLA to the Big Ten.
The Big 12 has remained actively involved in realignment rumors, even after adding Houston, BYU, Cincinnati, and Central Florida starting in 2023-24.
The latest involves Colorado, one of the 'four corner schools' that includes Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah, all programs believed to be flight risks to join the Big-12 if the Pac-12's media deal isn't up to par financially.
Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reported the Buffs could be the first team to jump ship, having been a member of the Big 12 from 1996-2010 and boasting some momentum following the hiring of Deion Sanders to be the head coach.
Locked on Big 12 host Josh Neighbors was joined by Sicem365's David Smoak on the latest episode to talk about these Colorado rumors.
"I got the impression that Colorado and Arizona were waiting for one of the others to make a decision," Smoak said. "If Colorado did than Arizona would. Utah I'm not sure where they are right now....I'm not sure how the timing is going to work."
The holding pattern right now remains with the Pac-12's long awaited media rights deal, which as of now is expected sometime in late spring or early summer.
The current favorite to host the league's games is the CW Network - which has many fans concerned the financial package won't be enough to keep schools like Colorado and Arizona in the conference through this realignment.
This story continues to develop, and for more on realignment from both perspectives check out the Locked on Big 12 and Locked on Pac-12 podcasts.