Morgantown, West Virginia – According to reports, Bob Bowlsby, the commissioner of the Big 12 Conference, has reached out to Pac 12 commissioner George Kliavkoff to discuss the possibility of somehow aligning.
Bowlsby would likely want a merger of some kind to save the Big 12’s chance of remaining a relevant Power 5 conference. It’s unclear what value the eight remaining teams of the Big 12 (after Texas and Oklahoma leave for the SEC) would offer the Pac 12.
This would be a last ditch resort for West Virginia. Travel in the Big 12 has already been difficult for the Mountaineers and merging with a conference full of west coast teams would be the worst case scenario for West Virginia.
However, this could be West Virginia’s only chance to remain a Power 5 team. If the ACC is not receptive to allowing West Virginia membership in their conference, the Pac 12/Big 12 merger would likely be the only way that WVU can remain in a Power 5 conference.
Bowlsby discussing a potential merger with the Pac 12 could also potentially mean that he knows that the Big 12 is losing West Virginia to the ACC. West Virginia would be the only team on the east coast in the conference and would be a scheduling nightmare for every ot
Sources: Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby is meeting with Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff today to discuss the possibility of a scheduling alliance, merger or other options for their conferences to strategically work together.⁰ https://t.co/i3MFeMj9Ua
— Max Olson (@max_olson) August 3, 2021
