CFB insider claims Pac-12 dissolution looks imminent as 4 remaining teams eye a possible transition to the ACC, AAC or Mountain West

After over 100 years of existence in the college sports landscape, the end of the Pac-12 might be near. The conference will see the exit of eight schools from its roster in 2024, and the remaining four - California, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State - are uncertain about the future ahead.

According to college football insider Jim Williams, the Pac-12 will dissolve, with the four schools likely finding their way to Group of Five conferences. Considering the development in the last few days, this is a surprising turn of events for the remaining Pac-12 members.

Talks of a potential merger of the four teams with the Mountain West Conference or the Atlantic Coast Conference have been reported in recent days. However, none of that is working out for now, leaving the schools in a difficult situation.

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Will the Pac-12 survivors head to the Group of Five?

As per Williams, Cal and Stanford will exit the Pac-12 to join either the American Athletic Conference or the ACC. So there's a possibility the two schools will realign with the ACC and remain in the Power Five. However, this might prove quite difficult.

The Southeastern Conference and the Big Ten are reportedly not interested in adding both West Coast schools to their conferences despite coming from huge media markets. As it stands, the future of Cal and Stanford in the world of college sports is likely lying in the Group of Five.

Oregon State and Washington State, on the other hand, will likely move to the Mountain West. There's a Power Five lifeline for the two universities with the Big 12. However, Williams considers it unlikely that the Big 12 will add any more teams.

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Conference realignment continues to hurt college sports

The landscape of conference realignment in college sports is intricate and constantly evolving. It continues to be influenced by diverse factors like television contracts, financial considerations and competitive advantages, while some schools find themselves at the receiving end.

In this case, the four remaining schools in the Pac-12 ended up as victims of the continuous chase for lucrative television money among college sports teams. They might find themselves moving down the slope into lower-rated conferences moving forward.

Conference realignment continues to have a negative impact on the college sports landscape. Tradition and rivalries continue to die, geographical sensitivity is going into extinction, and competitive imbalance is rooted deeper in college sports.