The University of Utah has voted to join the Big 12 Conference.
The school’s trustees made it official with a unanimous vote Friday evening after a day that may have been the death of the Pac-12.
“I am very enthusiastic about the University of Utah’s future within the Big 12,” Utah President Taylor Randall said in a statement after the vote. “Joining our Pac-12 and Association of American Universities peers from Colorado and Arizona is important to our mission and makes sense, as does, renewing our historic in-state rivalry with Brigham Young University.
“Being part of the Pac-12 has elevated the University of Utah and demonstrated our student-athletes can compete at the highest levels on and off the field, our move to the Big 12 will not change that position.”
Utah’s vote came the same day that Oregon and Washington both announced they would leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten. Arizona and Arizona State will join Utah in the Big 12.
Thanks to the pro rata clause in the Big 12′s media rights deal with ESPN and FOX, Utah would immediately become a full-share member of the league (worth about $31.7 million annually).
As for the rest of the Pac-12 — Stanford, Cal, Washington State and Oregon State — the prospects for what comes next are bleak.
The Pac-12 could merge its existing members with the Mountain West Conference. The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy reported that it was a real possibility.
Utah’s application to the Big 12 caps off a 12-hour period that started with an emergency Pac-12 meeting this morning, hope that a Pac-12 media rights deal could get done, and then a mass exodus from the league.
Statements from Utah and Big 12 officials
U. President Taylor Randall
“I am grateful for all of the hard work my Pac-12 Conference colleagues invested in an effort to find solutions to keep the conference whole and provide a pathway forward to benefit all of our students, fans and communities. Ultimately, stronger forces within national collegiate athletics and the greater media landscape brought us to today’s decision. I am hopeful the relationships we have made over the past 12 years within the Pac-12 remain strong. ...
“I am very enthusiastic about the University of Utah’s future within the Big 12. Joining our Pac-12 and Association of American Universities peers from Colorado and Arizona is important to our mission and makes sense, as does, renewing our historic in-state rivalry with Brigham Young University. ...
“Being part of the Pac-12 has elevated the University of Utah and demonstrated our student-athletes can compete at the highest levels on and off the field, our move to the Big 12 will not change that position.”
Utah Athletic Director Mark Harlan
“President Randall and I, along with the executive committee of the Board of Trustees, have been fully engaged in pursuing the best possible path for the University of Utah and our athletics programs to excel. After very thorough and comprehensive efforts to preserve our present conference affiliation in the aftermath of the announced departures of UCLA and USC last year, we have explored all options and have determined that the right path for Utah to continue to build on its tremendous growth trajectory is to accept an invitation to join the Big 12 Conference.”
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark
“We are thrilled to welcome Arizona, Arizona State and Utah to the Big 12. The Conference is gaining three premier institutions both academically and athletically, and the entire Big 12 looks forward to working alongside their presidents, athletic directors, student-athletes and administrators.”
A busy Thursday night and Friday morning
On Thursday night, both Arizona’s Board of Regents and Washington’s Board of Regents met via Zoom. The meetings immediately went into closed sessions, but the topic at hand was whether Arizona, Arizona State and Washington should jump ship from the Pac-12. Arizona and Arizona State had been highly coveted by the Big 12, according to multiple reports. Meanwhile, the Big Ten had expressed interest in Washington, per ESPN.
After those meetings, no definitive action took place. But ESPN reported that Arizona was “expected” to join the Big 12 in the coming hours. Washington was also trending toward joining the Big Ten, according to ESPN.
Notably, the Big 12 voted on Thursday night to approve Arizona’s addition to the league, should the Wildcats decide to join, according to ESPN.
However on Friday morning, Pac-12 presidents and officials met as a last chance to save the league, according to Yahoo Sports. The hope was the remaining nine members could sign the media rights deal that Commissioner George Kliavkoff presented on Tuesday. It was a deal mainly with Apple TV for less money than the Big 12′s deal, according to multiple reports. But the deal could eventually be worth more than Big 12 if the Pac-12 met certain subscription incentives, ESPN reported.
But as the meeting went on, the hope of the Pac-12 signing the deal and staying together fizzled. ESPN reported that the Pac-12 was unlikely to “land the plane”. Also, Pete Thamel reported that the Apple TV offer expires at the end of the week.
According to Dellenger, Oregon was still hesitant about signing a deal with Apple TV. Washington also was too.
Without a media rights deal signed, Oregon and Washington went back to being “fully engaged with the Big Ten,” according to ESPN.
However, in that moment, the potential pitfalls of Oregon and Washington joining the Big Ten were still being discussed. The Big Ten’s offer to both schools was between “$35-$40 million annually,” according to Dellenger. That is not a full-share of what the rest of that league gets. Also, Oregon’s pathway to the College Football Playoff would have been much harder in the Big Ten rather than the Pac-12.
There was also some trepidation on Arizona’s end to leave the Pac-12, according to Yahoo Sports. The Arizona Board of Regents (which oversees both public schools in Arizona and Arizona State) did not want Arizona to leave without ASU. And ASU has had some hesitancy about leaving the Pac-12, per USA Today.
Oregon and Washington Leave
By 2:30 p.m. PT, Oregon was officially out the door to the Big Ten. The conference extended an invitation Friday morning and Oregon held a Board of Regents meeting that afternoon.
The resolution for the Ducks’ departure passed. Any concerns about CPF viability apparently gave way to the money.
As for Washington, the Big Ten also approved the Huskies on Friday, according to ESPN. The report stated an official announcement is expected “soon.”
Yahoo also reported the terms of the agreement saying: “Both schools are expected to agree to a cut rate — perhaps as low as 50 percent — of the Big Ten’s media revenue that could reach $65 million/year per institution. That is still more than the Pac-12′s proposed media deal with Apple TV+, which is estimated to be in the $20-25 million range.”
Anything left for the Pac-12?
The Pac-12 reportedly scheduled a second meeting for Friday afternoon.
But it does not appear that anything can be done to save the league other than a Mountain West merger. With Oregon, Washington, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State either gone or applying elsewhere, the Pac-12 is left with four teams.
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