Big 12 Caught in Fallout From The Alliance’s Press Conference

ACC commissioner Jim Phillips spoke passionately about the Big 12’s fit in the college football landscape Tuesday afternoon, but like many around college football, I couldn’t see where the newly minted Alliance included the Big 12.

The Athletic‘s Max Olson spoke with Phillips after the 2 p.m. press conference confirming the existence of the alliance between the ACC, B1G and Pac 12 about his reasoning for why the Big 12 wasn’t included in alliance talks with the three autonomy five conferences.

I asked ACC commissioner Jim Phillips to explain why the Big 12 is not a partner in the alliance.

Bottom line: too much uncertainty right now. pic.twitter.com/kD3GQ4rkVJ

— Max Olson (@max_olson) August 24, 2021

Of course, with three conferences making up the new Alliance, the potential for chaos is even greater. In Olson’s report with Pac 12 commissioner George Kliavkoff, he expressed his doubt that the Pac 12 would actively look to cause greater instability in college athletics. However, like everything, events move very, very quickly in collegiate athletics.

In his chat with @TheAthletic, George Kliavkoff said this about the Big 12.

I'd be a little surprised if he preaches the importance of stabilizing college athletics and then raids the Big 12 a few days later. pic.twitter.com/dIoRLb3ZWX

— Max Olson (@max_olson) August 24, 2021

It wouldn’t be at all surprising, for anyone, if the new Alliance were to poach the remaining members of the most vulnerable conference among the autonomy five in the next days, weeks and months. According to former Pittsburgh head coach and current Fox Sports analyst Dave Wannstedt, there are already talks of the Big 12 splitting.

While Wannstedt told WV Sports Now that, “on rumors I have no facts,” his report on 670TheScore, a Chicago radio station, points toward there at least being rumors pointing toward the Big 12 splitting in the weeks ahead.

Fox Sports analyst and former Pitt football coach Dave Wannstedt went on @670TheScore in Chicago this morning and said he heard the following Big 12 news at the Fox meetings last week in Phoenix:

– OSU and KSU to the Pac-12
– WVU to the ACC
– KU and Iowa State to the Big Ten

— Dillon Davis (@dillondavis3) August 24, 2021

In the event that Wannstedt’s report comes to fruition, each member of the new alliance would benefit from the potential Big 12 exodus, with each adding at least one member. Oklahoma State and Kansas State would head to the Pac 12, Kansas and Iowa State would head to the B1G and West Virginia would be the lone member joining the ACC.

With Kliavkoff publicly stating, reported by The Atletic‘s Nicole, Auerbach, that potential expansion will be announced by the end of the week, it appears that the first step of a potential Big 12 exodus could be started soon — if it is indeed happening.

Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff tells @TheAthletic: "We're going to announce our decision about whether or not to expand (membership) before the end of the week."

(He said that conference expansion was being vetted on a parallel path to the Alliance.)

— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) August 24, 2021

As the weeks roll on toward the beginning of the 2021-22 season, it’s clear that realignment talks will not be going away anytime soon.