LAS VEGAS — The latest wave of conference realignment has seen two conferences cement themselves as a step above the rest - with the SEC gobbling up Texas and Oklahoma and the Big Ten stealing UCLA and USC, taking powerful programs and a huge media market in Los Angeles from the Pac-12.
These moves put more pressure on both the Big-12 and Pac-12 to keep the rest of their programs banded together, and for the Pac-12 in particular the pressure to secure a media rights deal as soon as possible is paramount to avoid losing more programs.
Part of the reason the Big-12 was able to secure a deal before the Pac-12, according to Locked on Big-12 host Josh Neighbors, is the overall depth of the league.
"The one thing that drew FOX back to the Big-12 was the competitive depth in this league," Neighbors said. "They are putting really good teams on TV all the time. You're getting all kinds of these matchups. The Pac-12, top to bottom, is not offering that."
The Pac-12 has two consistent, top-tier programs in Oregon and Washington, although both are known to be exploring realignment options of their own.
The problem is the bottom of the conference, where teams like Colorado, Stanford, and Cal drag the appeal of regular season games down for media partners who aren't interested in featuring games with these schools involved.
Colorado's addition of head coach Deion Sanders will help, but as long as this conference has bottom-feeders it will have a hard time garnering the kind of media deal that will keep schools like Oregon and Washington happy.
Meanwhile, the Big-12 remains interested in doing some poaching of their own, with commissioner Brett Yormark expressing interest in the Pac-12's four corner schools: Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and Arizona State.
Every day that goes by without a media deal makes the Pac-12 more vulnerable to losing member schools, and Locked on Pac-12 host Spencer McLaughlin believes a deal needs to get done before the Pac-12 basketball tournament in Las Vegas in mid-March.
"It'd be pretty tough from a conference level to go into that tournament, have it play out, and not have a media deal in place," McLaughlin said. "I could see a deal already having been finalized, but they are waiting until just before that tournament starts to roll it out."
Conference realignment is here to stay, and regardless of how this media deal shakes out for the conference of champions it is clear no one is safe when the powerhouses and their endless supply of money and resources come calling.