College Football Conference Realignment Rumors: Will Colorado and Arizona move to the Big 12 once Oklahoma and Texas move to SEC?

Conference realignment has taken over college football with four of the Power Five conferences set to face changes by the 2024 season. The Colorado Buffaloes and Arizona Wildcats could be the latest schools affected by realignment.

With the Oklahoma Wildcats and Texas Longhorns both set to join the SEC next season, the Big 12 has done plenty of recruiting to replace them.

Take a look at whether the Buffaloes and Wildcats will join the BYU Cougars, Cincinnati Bearcats, Houston Cougars and UCF Knights in joining the conference.

What is causing conference realignment in college football and what schools have changed conferences?

Conference realignment in college football, like most things, has reportedly been caused by money. Television revenue, in particular, has been a driving factor in the movement.

The shake-up of the Power Five will begin next month. The BYU Cougars, Cincinnati Bearcats, Houston Cougars and UCF Knights are set to join the Big 12 on July 1, all from non-Power Five conferences. The summer of 2024 will bring even larger changes that will effectively end conference play as we know it.

The Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns will leave the Big 12 for the SEC. Meanwhile, the UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans will leave the Pac-12 in order to join the Big Ten.

Will the Colorado Buffaloes and Arizona Wildcats join the Big 12?

Following the announcement that the UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans would leave the Pac-12, there have been plenty of eyes on the conference. On one side, there has been no announcement of how the conference will replace its two biggest programs.

The Pac-12 has been unable to secure a long-term television deal, which led to the two schools' planned departure, and losing the Los Angeles market will not help.

Colorado v Arizona

The more concerning side for Pac-12 officials is that six of the 10 remaining schools have already been approached by other conferences. The Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies are targets of the Big Ten, while the Arizona Wildcats, Arizona State Sun Devils, Colorado Buffaloes, and Utah Utes are all reportedly in contact with the Big 12.

According to radio host Greg Swaim, the Wildcats and Buffaloes are now expected to be the latest schools to take advantage of conference realignment by joining the Big 12.

He took to Twitter, stating:

"BREAKING: Nothing becomes official until the #Pac12 gets their TV deal finalized, but now multiple sources tell us tonight that the #Buffs and #BearDown will move to the #Big12. No word on the #Utes and #SunDevils, but Yormark may just take two and save some spots for #ACC teams."

Check out Greg Swaim's tweet below:

If the two teams wind up leaving the Pac-12, it will likely lead to even more departures. The Pac-12 could soon lose its Power Five status if conference officials are unable to negotiate a television deal or take advantage of conference realignment to bring in new programs.