The Pac-12 could soon enter a merger with another conference in a bit to remain afloat.
Folks from Oregon State and Washington State have been looking for ways to rebuild the conference but, should their efforts fail, a reverse merger could be on the cards.
According to FrontOfficeSports, there has been talk within the Mountain West to bring the aforementioned programs in and rename the conference the “Pac-12.”
Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez told the publication she was open to discussing a reverse merger before Stanford and Cal announced they were moving to the ACC, though due diligence would need to be undertaken.
There would be several hurdles to clear if such a move is to take place. There would be a need to determine how the Pac-12’s intellectual property would be acquired, something that would pose some difficulty.
On an encouraging note, the Big East basketball programs retained the rights from the original Big East when they defected in 2013 and were able to create a new conference under the banner.
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Any expansion would require the Mountain West to go back to the table with FOX and CBS, given they agreed to broadcast rights deals that pay each school around $4 million per year. The conference could also look into taking over the Pac-12 networks.
