{"id":275008,"date":"2023-05-26T10:11:45","date_gmt":"2023-05-26T15:11:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=275008"},"modified":"2023-05-26T10:53:45","modified_gmt":"2023-05-26T15:53:45","slug":"colorado-return-big-12-leave-pac-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/colorado-return-big-12-leave-pac-12\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado Could Return to the Big 12, Leave Pac-12"},"content":{"rendered":"

Colorado is inching closer and closer to leaving the Pac-12 conference and returning to the Big 12.<\/p>\n

\"Deion
Colorado football head coach Deion Sanders surveys the field during a spring practice game at Folsom Field in Boulder. (Image: AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Big 12 is seeking to expand its conference after football powerhouses Texas and Oklahoma agreed to join the SEC in 2024. The Big 12 invited four new schools to join the conference in 2023, yet they’re still seeking further expansion.<\/p>\n

The Pac-12 has been in disarray since USC and UCLA agreed to leave the West Coast-based conference in favor of the Big Ten.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Pac-12 is desperate to find replacements after losing their two Los Angeles-based universities. San Diego State is the popular candidate to replace the loss of USC and UCLA. San Diego State reached the 2023 “March Madness” Final Four and appeared in the 2023 men’s college basketball championship game.<\/p>\n

Big 12 Aggressively Expanding<\/h2>\n

After losing Oklahoma and Texas, the Big 12 added four schools. Houston, UCF, Cincinnati, and BYU will join the Big 12 at the start of the 2023 football season. The Big 12 expanded to 16 schools, which seems to be the current magic number in football-dominated conferences.<\/p>\n

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The SEC and Big Ten tipped the balance of power among the Power Five conferences when they expanded to 16 schools. The Big 12 doesn’t want to stop at 16, though, and they\u2019re eyeing a megaconference that\u2019s 18 deep.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Big 12 explored the inclusion of UNLV, which are currently in the Mountain West. By adding UNLV, the Big 12 would have a presence in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

UConn<\/a> has also drawn interest from the Big 12, mainly because of their basketball prowess after winning the 2023 March Madness men\u2019s college basketball championship.<\/p>\n

In March, the Big 12 targeted schools from the “four corners” states to join their conference, which includes Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah. Those four schools are members of the Pac-12.<\/p>\n

A Big 12 source told me last week that Colorado is ready to commit to joining the Big 12 ‘soon,'”<\/strong> reported<\/a> Berry Tramel from The Oklahoman.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Colorado is a former denizen of the Big 12, but left the conference in 2011 when the Pac-10 expanded and rebranded as the Pac-12.<\/p>\n

Colorado joined the informally-named Big Seven in 1947 before the conference added an eighth team in 1964. For three decades, the Big Eight was a major presence in college football and basketball. In 1994, the Big Eight joined forces with four Southwest Conference teams to create the Big 12.<\/p>\n

Nostalgic college football fans yearn for the halcyon days of the Big Eight, when Colorado and Nebraska met in their annual gridiron battle on the day after Thanksgiving in a nationally televised game.<\/p>\n

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Will Colorado be the first domino to fall in the Pac-12? One Big 12 coach says yes. https:\/\/t.co\/Bz2HPOjHJY<\/a><\/p>\n

— Berry Tramel (@BerryTramel) May 24, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n