Can working with the Pac-12 help salvage the Big 12?

Would a possible merger or alliance with the Pac-12 help get the Big 12 back on its feet?

We’ve discussed how the Big 12 will need to be creative if it hopes to survive. Well, it looks like Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby is being creative and considering every single option available to him as he leads his conference forward.

With Texas and Oklahoma on the way, the Big 12 needs to look at taking drastic actions to help stay afloat. Losing the Longhorns and the Sooners is already damaging the the conference’s brand.

But, finding a way to fuse with another conference that is seeking more respect and notoriety could level the playing field a bit when considering conference power and balance on a national scale.

And so, a meeting between the Pac-12 and the Big 12 to discuss such a thing seems like a good thing for all parties involved in the discussion.

According to a report by Max Olson at The Athletic, Bowlsby is set to meet with his Pac-12 counterpart, George Kliavkoff, to look at a couple of different options. Among those options are: merging the conference and setting up a scheduling alliance.

Working with the Pac-12 would certainly help the remaining members of the Big 12, but things might get messy

The SEC, along with Texas and Oklahoma, really threw the college football landscape for a loop with this latest round of conference realignment.

The fact that the Big 12 would even consider merging with the Pac-12 should be astonishing, but it seems like a logical move given the way things have shifted in the SEC’s favor thanks to the Longhorns and Sooners.

But, something that’ll have to be considered here, would a merger (or even a scheduling alliance) between the the two conferences lead to more conference realignment?

Would every Big 12 member really be interested in playing a ton of games out west? Would a team like the West Virginia Mountaineers be enthused about playing games on Mountain Time or Pacific Time while it normally operates on Eastern Time?

Or would they be interested in making their way over to a conference like the ACC, where things are a more natural fit geographically?

This sort of move is likely the best option the Big 12 has.

Finding a way to work with the Pac-12 can help just about everybody in both conferences, even if there are a few things that would need to be ironed out along the way.