Pac-4 schools can merge with surprise Group of Five conference

The “Pac-4” schools that remain after the Pac-12 was decimated in conference realignment by the Big 12 and Big Ten — aka Oregon State, Wazzu, Cal, and Stanford — could all wind up with a surprise Group of Five conference: the AAC, or less formally, the American. While many figured the Mountain West would be a natural segue for the stranded west coast schools, the conference that just sent four schools to the Big 12, and thus, the most prestigious of the Group of Five conferences, could step up instead according to On3’s Eric Prisbell.

“The American Athletic Conference is interested in adding any or all of the four remaining Pac-12 Conference schools, sources with direct knowledge of the league’s strategy told On3 on Monday,” Prisbell prefaced before saying, “If California, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State are looking for a stable new home, the AAC believes it would be an ideal league for the so-called Pac-4. The AAC is interested in adding as many as all four of the schools, a source said, which would expand its membership to 18.” A source close to the AAC believes that the major cities involved with the conference, plus the current TV rights deal with ESPN, make the American the most enticing possible landing spot.

“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,” an AAC source told On3.

Pac-4 schools would be better off going independent

Joining a conference like the AAC would solidify the Pac-4 schools losing their Power Five memberships, but it doesn’t have to be that way — instead, Cal, Stanford, Oregon State, and Wazzu could go independent and still maintain their most heated Pac-12 rivalries while maintaining schedule flexibility and keeping that ever-elusive Power Five membership.

Obviously, it’s going to be difficult negotiating TV contracts as an independent lacking the draw of a Notre Dame or even an Army, but these schools don’t deserve to essentially be relegated because of the decisions made by their former conference members.