Top Landing Spots for Stanford, Cal, WSU, Oregon State amid Pac-12 Conference Rumors

And then there were four.

The dissolution of the Pac-12 has become the biggest storyline of the college football offseason, as Oregon, USC, Washington, UCLA, Arizona, Utah, Arizona State and Colorado will all be headed elsewhere starting with the 2024 campaign.

It was already known that USC and UCLA were going to the Big Ten, but Oregon and Washington will be as well. And Arizona, Utah and Arizona State will be coming to the Big 12 along with Colorado.

That leaves Stanford, Cal, Washington State and Oregon State without a long-term home and with plenty of uncertainty. Here is a look at some potential landing spots for the four remaining schools and some rumors regarding their future.

American Athletic Conference

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MOBILE, AL - FEBRUARY 02: A general view of a Washington State Cougars helmet during the Reese's Senior Bowl practice session on February 2, 2002 at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. (Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Eric Prisbell of On3 reported the "American Athletic Conference is interested in adding any or all of the four remaining Pac-12 Conference schools."

One source said, "We would be a good landing spot for those schools given our existing ESPN deal, which has a strong linear component, along with our major cities and institutional profiles."

Playing in the AAC might not be as enticing as high-profile showdowns against USC, Oregon and UCLA, but those days appear to be in the past for the four remaining schools. This is a contingency plan, and they would be joining a conference that has rebounded nicely from its own departures, as UCF, Cincinnati and Houston joined the Big 12.

The AAC added Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, UAB, North Texas, UTSA and Rice as something of a response to those departures, and the addition of any or all of Stanford, Cal, Washington State and Oregon State would give it even more legitimacy.

While football makes most of the headlines when it comes to conference realignment, joining an expanding conference like the AAC that also features Memphis, Tulane, Temple and SMU, among others, would keep a direct path to the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments open for the four remaining Pac-12 schools.

They could do much worse than an AAC contingency option.

Mountain West

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From a geographical standpoint, the Pac-12 schools joining those in the Mountain West makes the most sense.

And Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reported the Mountain West "is receptive to" some type of "merger or partnership" with Stanford, Cal, Washington State and Oregon State.

That leaves the door open to the potential creation of new regional rivalries. Football programs such as Boise State, San Diego State, Air Force and Fresno State have proud histories, and there is plenty of basketball talent that has emerged from the league as well.

Quite frankly, this is the cleanest option.

It would reduce some of the concerns about consistent cross-country travel for sports with longer schedules than football as conference realignment continues, would maintain a powerful conference in the West and could even give the programs within it access to the expanded College Football Playoff depending on how the situation unfolds.

ACC

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 09: (L-R) The Stanford Cardinal Dollies, the unofficial Stanford Tree mascot and Stanford cheerleaders perform after the team defeated the Arizona State Sun Devils 71-70 during the first round of the Pac-12 Conference basketball tournament at T-Mobile Arena on March 09, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

The ACC would be quite the landing spot for any of the four schools, and there is at least one rumor that turned heads.

During an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, ESPN's Pete Thamel said, "There's been some Stanford-ACC smoke that has emerged."

That would be quite the windfall for Stanford, although the cross-country travel would be a major issue. While the Big Ten and Big 12 may have footprints across the country following the latest round of realignment, the ACC largely consists of teams across the East Coast.

From the ACC's perspective, Stanford or any of the remaining Pac-12 schools could be an insurance policy considering Florida State school president Richard McCullough said, "I believe that FSU will have to, at some point, consider very seriously leaving the ACC—unless there were a radical change to the revenue distribution."

If Florida State is serious about leaving the conference, which the comments indicated it is, the league would have to respond.

Adding programs such as Stanford, Cal, Washington State and Oregon State would be an ideal response.

Unlikely Dream Scenario

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In a perfect world for Stanford, Cal, Washington State and Oregon State, they would be joining the SEC, Big Ten or even Big 12.

Yet they certainly don't fit the geographic footprint of the SEC and wouldn't move the needle much on a football basis for the powerhouse league. They would not be nearly as impactful as adding programs such as Florida State, Clemson or Miami could be down the line.

There also isn't much incentive for the Big Ten at this point to add any of those schools considering it will be in the California, Oregon and Washington television markets thanks to the additions of USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington. In terms of football, the four schools can't match the prestige of those departing either.

As for the Big 12, the thought here is it would have already attempted to add those four schools if it wanted them.

After all, there was an air of desperation for Pac-12 schools this past weekend, and the Big 12 responded by adding Arizona, Arizona State and Utah. If it truly wanted Stanford, Cal, Washington State and Oregon State, it likely would have made such a move during what seemed like open season on the conference.