Can the Pac-12 land a media deal ahead of July 21? List of potential suitors to bag a deal from the FBS powerhouse

One of the biggest stories in college sports is the lack of a media rights deal for the Pac-12. They were hoping to have this sorted by the end of June, but there has been little development on that front. With ESPN dealing with a lot of issues with their finances to the point of Disney contemplating selling it off, they seem unlikely to have a new deal with the worldwide leader of sports coverage.

It is still believed that they will announce a new media rights deal at the Pac-12 Media Days on July 21.

The Pac-12 is running out of suitors as the Power Five conference is set to lose UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans after the 2023 season. What are some potential networks that could be the best fits for the conference?

Let's discuss three networks that could get the Conference of Champions on their airwaves.

#1 Fox Sports

FOX and ESPN currently share media rights for the conference, so what is stopping FOX from taking full control of the deal? If ESPN wants out, FOX should get the opportunity to explore the option of controlling 100 percent of the media rights.

Currently, FOX has shared media rights for the Mountain West, Big 12, and Big Ten. Having at least partial media rights for four of the Power Five conferences means that they can get some of the biggest games of the week. The contract might be a little cheaper for them here as well, and with the eyeballs football garners in America, they can get their money's worth.

#2 CBS

CBS could be an interesting player here as they already have partnerships with college and professional sports. Getting the Pac-12 could be a great addition to their live sports catalog as it is cheap and would get millions of eyeballs.

They have deals with Conference USA, Mid-American, and Mountain West. Getting into the Power Five could be massive for the network. CBS could also use Paramount during the fourth quarter of the year to really drive subscriptions.

#3 NBC: The home of Pac-12?

The only college football program that airs exclusively on NBC is the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Having the conference could drive more eyeballs to their product. Even if they were to air the Pac-12 Network under the Peacock umbrella, it would be great for their numbers.

This could also be the initial stages of trying to convince Notre Dame to ditch independent football and join the conference in a bid to market the whole thing better.