Report: Oregon to hold Thursday meeting amid reports of Colorado leaving Pac-12

The University of Oregon Executive, Audit and Governance Committee of the Board of Trustees will hold an “ad hoc meeting” on Thursday, the school announced. The meeting is scheduled to take place via Zoom and will begin at 10 a.m. PT.

It’s unclear at this point what will be discussed at the meeting. However, there are a couple of reasons why the school might have put it together on such short notice.

Firstly, Ducks football coach Dan Lanning reached an agreement for a contract extension through 2028 on Tuesday. It’s possible that the meeting was called for the Board of Trustees to approve the extension.

The second potential reason that Oregon may have scheduled the meeting is to discuss its future in the Pac-12. Reports emerged on Wednesday that Colorado is prepared to leave the Pac-12 for the Big 12 by next season.

With USC and UCLA also set to leave the conference after this season, there are serious concerns about whether the Pac-12 can stay afloat. The league has yet to reach an agreement on a new TV deal with its current contract set to expire in July of 2024. That was reportedly is a big reason why Colorado is expected to make the move, as it will receive $31.7 million from the Big 12’s new media rights deal with ESPN and FOX.

Oregon has been a perennial contender in the college football landscape for the better part of the past two decades, with two appearances in the national championship and seven New Year’s Six Bowl appearances. That would make them a prime candidate to either follow Colorado to the Big 12 or join the Trojans and Bruins in the Big Ten.

Up to this point, there has been little news on what the Ducks’ plans are. However, with the meeting set to take place Thursday, that could soon change.

More on Colorado joining the Big 12

According to Brett McMurphy, the Buffs are set to rejoin their old conference in 2024 citing “the Big 12’s stability & Pac-12’s uncertainty.” That means they’ll have one last season in the Pac-12, the same as USC and UCLA who are headed to the Big Ten.

An official announcement is expected to come on Thursday.

Earlier this month, Cincinnati, Houston, BYU and UCF joined the Big 12 as the conference prepares for the departure of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC.

Because of the Longhorns and Sooners’ dominance since the conference’s inception — Colorado actually comes into the league as one of the more decorated teams in the conference’s history out of all its active members.

The Buffs rank No. 6 in all-time (60) in wins out of current Big 12 members (excluding Texas and OU) and have more conference wins than TCU (56), who just came off a College Football Playoff run, West Virginia (47) and Kansas (45).

If either Texas or Oklahoma win the Big 12 Championship in 2023, Colorado will also enter their old conference tied for second-most in Big 12 Championships among active programs — with one, which they won back in 2001.

On3’s Barkley Truax contributed to this report.