Colorado is within the midst of a possible return to the Huge 12. On the heels of experiences Wednesday afternoon that CU was engaged in what could also be ultimate talks setting the stage for the Buffaloes to depart the Pac-12, the Huge 12’s college presidents Wednesday evening voted unanimously to approve membership for Colorado ought to it formally apply, sources near the method inform to CBS Sports activities’ Dennis Dodd.
A second Colorado Board of Regents assembly is scheduled for Thursday at 5 p.m. ET, and it is potential that CU submits an official utility to hitch the Huge 12 following that assembly ought to the regents vote to depart the Pac-12.
The Buffaloes have lengthy been thought of a precedence enlargement goal for the Huge 12, which held “substantive” talks Colorado earlier this offseason, a number of sources instructed Dodd in Might. This regardless of CU publicly saying it desired to stay within the Pac-12 and wouldn’t make any choices till a Pac-12 media rights deal could possibly be reviewed by convention members.
CBS Sports activities realized Wednesday that curiosity between the events elevated in current days. Ought to the Buffaloes rejoin the Huge 12, they might be the one addition to the convention these days, sources inform CBS Sports activities.
“I’ve no remark aside from what I stated final week,” Colorado athletic director Rick George instructed Dodd in late Might concerning the faculty’s potential curiosity within the Huge 12. “We’re proud members of the Pac-12. In an ideal world, we would like to be within the Pac-12, however we additionally must do what is true for Colorado on the finish of the day.”
Becoming a member of the Huge Six convention in 1947 and remaining with the expanded league for a span of 63 years, CU was a founding member of the Huge 12 in 1996 and remained within the convention till it departed for the Pac-12 forward of the 2011 season. On the time, many had been stunned Colorado left for the Pac-12 in any respect given its historical past affiliated with the Huge 12.
Will the Huge 12 develop additional?
The Huge 12 formally added 4 new members — BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF — on July 1 as a method of rebuilding its convention following the scheduled departures of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC on July 1, 2024. The league will encompass 14 groups for the 2023 season earlier than dropping to 12 in 2024 as soon as UT and OU exit.
It’s believed the Huge 12 has been contemplating additional enlargement, not solely making overtures to different Pac-12 applications but in addition basketball powerhouses like UConn and Gonzaga, Dodd reported in June. League commissioner Brett Yormark confirmed at Huge 12 Media Days earlier this month that he would favor to stay at 14 groups, which might require the addition of two faculties after the Longhorns and Sooners depart — the Buffaloes and one other program.
Yormark additionally stated he admired the branding efforts at Colorado. The Buffs soccer program made headlines this offseason by hiring former NFL star Deion Sanders because the staff’s coach.
Beforehand, it was believed the Huge 12 was desirous about not solely Colorado however the different so-called “4 Corners” faculties from the Pac-12: Arizona, Arizona State and Utah. Nevertheless, that curiosity seems to have subsided.
The Huge 12 sees an addition of Colorado to be a separate transfer from any extra enlargement, which might probably come at a later date, sources inform Dodd.
Any such transfer should be dealt with delicately. Due to authorized legal responsibility, the Huge 12 can’t be seen as initiating curiosity with Colorado. Protocol dictates that CU would first have to use for membership to hitch the Huge 12 as soon as the present Pac-12 media rights expires July 1, 2024.
A number of sources inform CBS Sports activities that Sanders helps a transfer to the Huge 12 as a result of the fertile recruiting grounds of Florida and Texas — each within the Huge 12 footprint — would open even additional for the Buffs.
What is going to occur to the Pac-12?
The Pac-12 is undoubtedly at a crossroads. It’s about to enter its ultimate season with USC and UCLA earlier than the flagship California faculties exit for the Huge Ten on July 1, 2024. As such, it has confronted difficulties signing a brand new media rights deal. The Huge 12 is partially liable for the Pac-12’s struggles because it opened its contract with Fox and ESPN — each presently Pac-12 companions as nicely — to leap forward of the Pac-12 within the rights negotiation course of.
The Huge 12 secured a $2.3 billion media rights take care of Fox and ESPN by means of the 2030-31 athletic season. Convention groups will earn a mean of $31.7 million yearly from the networks as a part of the deal, and Colorado is predicted to obtain a full share upon its arrival ought to it finalize its return to the league.
The Pac-12, in the meantime, has been unable to safe its personal deal for the higher a part of a 12 months. Regardless of reassurances from league commissioner George Kliavkoff that the Pac-12 will signal a deal that equals or exceeds the annual worth of the Huge 12’s deal, the fixed delays with out both an settlement or named rights companions has some member universities feeling uneasy.
Nonetheless, most have expressed their dedication to the Pac-12 — at the least till they’re introduced with the media rights package deal Kliavkoff secures for the league.
Kliavkoff met with faculty officers Wednesday to supply an replace on these negotiations, based on Yahoo Sports. Only one week in the past, Kliavkoff stood agency behind the convention’s membership at Pac-12 Media Day, a message he has preached since final July. He reiterated {that a} new media rights deal for the Pac-12 was on the way in which regardless of negotiations persevering with a 12 months after they had been licensed by the convention.
“Our faculties are dedicated to one another and to the Pac-12,” Kliavkoff stated. “We’ll get our media rights deal achieved, we’ll announce the deal. I feel the realignment that is occurring in school athletics will come to an finish for this cycle. The reality is we have larger fish to fry.
“There are unimaginable alternatives and likewise challenges in entrance of faculty athletics, and I would like to have the ability to work with all of my colleagues in Division I and significantly within the A5, and we’ll try this. We’ll transfer previous all of the bitter squabbling of the final 12 months, and we’ll work collectively to make school athletics higher.”
