Report: Big 12 Recently Contacted Pac-12's Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Utah

The Pac 12 could be at risk of losing more members.

Per CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd, the Big 12 has contacted Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah about potentially joining its conference as Pac 12 television contract negotiations reportedly struggle and stall.

According to CBS Sports' Shehan Jeyarajah, "Interest in the Pac-12's media rights are underwhelming, and the league remains the only Power Five conference without a long-term television contract."

That news comes as UCLA and USC get ready to depart the Pac 12 for the Big Ten as full members in 2024.

Obviously, losing two keystone Pac-12 members who also happen to be located in Los Angeles, the second-biggest media market in the United States, is a blow for the league.

Dodd explained the impact the school have on the television ratings.

"When USC and UCLA left, the Pac-12 was stripped of 23 conference games involving those teams that were among the top 20 most watched on a weekly basis over the past two seasons. That represented approximately 20% of the total conference inventory.

"While the Pac-12 Championship Game last year was the highest-rated such contest in 11 years, it included the soon-departed USC playing Utah."

As for the Big 12, the conference will soon lose heavy hitters Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC. They will soon add BYU, Houston, Cincinnati and South Florida, but it's clear the league wants more.

"I've been spending four weeks trying to defend against grenades that have been lobbied in from every corner of the Big 12 trying to destabilize our remaining conference," Pac 12 commissioner George Kliavkoff said at Pac 12 Media Day in 2022.

"I understand why they're doing it. When you look at the relative media value between the two conferences, I get it. I get why they're scared, why they're trying to destabilize us."

As of now, it doesn't appear that another conference realignment is imminent by any means, but Pac 12 television rights negotiations will be something to watch moving forward. Per Jeyarajah, ESPN is "the only major linear provider still involved in bidding" at the moment.