Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott emerged from the final day of conference meetings in San Francisco on Sunday, announcing that university presidents and chancellors have given him all the authority he needs to expand the conference.
Scott wouldn’t give any timeframe for expansion talks or discuss specific schools, other than to reiterate that the deadline is the end of this year. However, ESPN.com reports it sounds as if he will aggressively court some of the biggest names in college sports, including Texas. The Big 12 is in danger of collapsing and could provide the Pac-10 with six new teams or more.
The Big 12 reportedly gave Missouri and Nebraska an ultimatum of Friday to decide if they will remain in the Big 12. If those schools leave, the Pac-10 could be strategically situated to gobble up Big 12 teams looking for bigger opportunities, including Texas. The most widely discussed scenario has Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Colorado joining the Pac-10.
Scott said it’s possible the expansion announcement could come as early as July 27, though the new schools wouldn’t join the Pac-10 until the 2012-2013 school year.
Meanwhile, Boise State will not be getting an invitation to join the Mountain West Conference – at least for now. Commissioner Craig Thompson says the decision not to expand the nine-team conference is due to the potential shake-ups of other athletic conferences. (ESPN.com, AP)
