DALLAS — Conference realignment has been on the minds of Pac-12 fans for close to a year now after USC and UCLA announced their intention to join the Big Ten in 2024.
The move takes two huge brands, both in a massive media market, out of the conference of champions and leaves the ten member schools a little panicked about the long term viability of the league.
Since the move was announced in June, the Pac-12 has done very little to add member schools, which furthered the concern among fans.
That all changed on Wednesday when Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff flew to Dallas and met with representatives at Southern Methodist University, a long rumored target for the conference.
SMU may not be a dominant athletic program, but they are located in Dallas, which ranks as the fifth largest media market in the country. Getting into a huge media market is just part of the appeal for the conference, as Locked on Pac-12 host Spencer McLaughlin explains:
"Going into the Dallas area, lotta TV households," McLaughlin said. "Expanding your geographical footprint helps you perceptually and quite literally helps you get more exposure in a state that has a lot of the top high school football talent."
SMU is now considered the top option to join the Pac-12 alongside San Diego State, who has long rumored to be an addition. SDSU's geography makes them an obvious replacement for the two Southern California schools, as well as their prowess in both football and basketball in recent years.
"There's also been some reporting that appears to indicate that San Diego State had a similar meeting with [Kliavkoff] back around December or so," McLaughlin continued. "We don't have an official announcement but we have meetings between the top two targets."
SMU and SDSU stand out among a large group of programs rumored to be in consideration for the Pac-12, including Boise State, UNLV, Tulane, UT-Arlington, Fresno State, and even Gonzaga as a basketball-only member.
While the conference still needs to prove they can swing a strong media rights deal in order to ease concern from the current member schools, getting a footprint in Dallas and San Diego would be a really nice start to the year 2023.