Report: Arizona plans official announcement on Big 12, Pac-12 decision Saturday
Some finality on Arizona’s dalliance with the Big 12 Conference could come as soon as Saturday. According to WildcatAuthority’s Jason Scheer, there are plans for an official announcement over the weekend to announce that Arizona is either leaving the Pac-12 Conference for greener pastures or holding pat.
The Wildcats have been standing on the cliff’s edge of a realignment decision for about a week following Colorado’s decision to bail for the Big 12 last week. And following a whirlwind Friday, it seems things have finally come to a head.
The Big 12 has already voted to extend an invitation to Arizona and all that remains for it to become official is a vote from the Arizona board of regents. It is anticipated that they will leave for the Big 12, but as Friday demonstrated, nothing is set in stone.
A deal to move Arizona to the Big 12 from the Pac-12 for a while seemed to hinge on what would come of Arizona State. The board of regents for the Wildcats and Arizona State and many expected they desire to keep the schools a package deal.
And now that Arizona has now made a decision, their in-state counterpart and Utah could be on their heels.
Arizona State, Utah might follow Arizona to the Big 12 if that’s the decision
The dominoes are starting to fall now that Oregon and Washington are headed to the Big Ten. According to Brett McMurphy, Arizona State and Utah are “showing interest” in the Big 12 as Pac-12 schools continue to explore their options.
McMurphy added that the Wildcats have already applied for membership to the Big 12 and the Big 12 is also “exploring its options” with Oregon and Washington off to the Big Ten.
The Pac-12 is clearly in trouble as it was unable to get a Grant of Rights deal signed Friday and now is dealing with Colorado, Oregon and Washington all leaving, with other schools at the least considering it.
Arizona State was reportedly not as eager to leave the Pac-12 as Arizona. However, that may be changing with so many other moving pieces in the Pac-12.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on SportsCenter Friday afternoon that he would expect the Wildcats to the Big 12 “to get pushed across the finish line in the near future.” He added that the likely scenario is that the Big 12 ends up adding the corner schools before everything is all said and done.