Can the Pac-12 survive the next wave of Big-12 poaching? CFB realignment has Pacific-12 in jeopardy 

The future of the Pac-12 is murky at best. Last year, the conference got a big blow as it was announced USC and UCLA would be joining the Big-10 and since then, they have had a tough time getting a new media rights deal.

Now, it was reported on Wednesday that Colorado will be leaving the Pac-12 for the Big-12, which is also hoping to land Utah.

If the Pac-12 loses both Utah and Colorado, the future of the conference would be unclear. However, there are some clear ways with which the Pac-12 can keep the conference afloat and thriving.

Will the Pac-12 survive?

The first thing the Pac-12 needs to do is land a media rights deal and get a good payout for every team.

It was recently revealed that the CW Network has offered a deal for the Pac-12. But, terms of the deal were not released, and as of right now, the conference hasn't agreed to it. Time is running out for the Pac-12 to find a media rights deal, and landing one will be a big help in keeping the conference together.

Utah is the reigning Pac-12 champions

The next way for the Pac-12 to survive is by expansion. The conference has been rumored to be linked to San Diego State and SMU, but should now also look at adding other teams like Colorado State, UNLV, and Hawaii among other schools to add other markets.

Expansion is also something George Kliavkoff, the commissioner of the Pac-12 Conference, has talked about, but wants a media rights deal before he looks to expand the Pac-12. Kliavkoff said:

"What we've seen is that the longer we wait for a deal, the better our options get. I think our board realizes that. There's an underlying shift in the media market that's happening and we're long-term taking advantage of that, but short-term may have provided some hiccups... Let's get our media rights deal done, get our grant of rights signed and then we'll consider expansion."

The final thing the Pac-12 needs to do to survive is make sure no more teams leave the conference. There have been reports that Oregon and Washington tried to get into the Big 10, and if that's true, the Pac-12 needs to keep the rest of the teams together for the conference to thrive.