CFB insider draws up possible scenarios to help save Pac-12 from dissolving: "The American takes all four remaining members"

The Pac-12 dissolving is definitely one of the biggest stories in the college football world.

It's not something that has happened overnight but instead years of poor decisions have caught up to the conference. Their four remaining programs - Washington State, California, Stanford and Oregon State - have to figure out what's next them and if the Pac-12 dissolving is inevitable at this point.

College football insider Jim Williams tweeted out some likely situations for the Pac-12 going forward. He threw out some interesting scenarios, tweeting:

"What is next for the @pac12? Your thoughts ...1. The ACC gets Stanford & Cal. 2. The American takes all four remaining members. 3. Merger with the Mountain West (likely a no go for Stanford & Cal) 4. They add 8 schools San Diego State, SMU, Rice, Tulane, USF, Colorado State,UNLV & Fresno State to stay together"

The Pac-12 dissolving could happen, so Commissioner George Kliavkoff needs to figure out the best course of action. The conference is without a media rights deal in 2024 and only has four teams. Should the Conference of Champions merge with another conference or just die off?

---

Is the Pac-12 dissolving an inevitability at this point?

There are a few ways that the Pac-12 dissolving does not happen and the conference survives.

They're not going to get anywhere near the money on its media rights they had initially hoped for. The Pac-12 needs to merge with the Mountain West if they want any chance of survival.

If they do not do that, there are a couple of issues that come to play, some of which Williams brought up in his tweeet. One is that if they do not merge with a conference, others will poach the teams they find valuable and not absorb all four remaining programs. It feels like Williams' fourth option of adding teams is essentially another way to phrase a merger with the Mountain West, which could be the best course of action.

The Mountain West has a sustainable media rights deal of $270 million over six years, and that could fund things going forward. Of course, with a deal of this magnitude, the contract could expand by adding the Pac-12 into it, but it would not be by much at this point.

That would give the Mountain West 16 teams if all four Pac-12 teams join, and the proximity of the schools would help in terms of traveling, as many Pac-12 student-athletes have voiced their frustration over.

The Pac-12 dissolving would be the worst-case scenario, as the Conference of Champions has been one of the staples in the college sports world. If they cannot find a merger, it would be time to just pull the plug on it, which is too depressing to think about.