Paul Finebaum: Conference expansion remains on the table amid uncertainty, despite challenges

There could be a lot of conference expansion left on the table throughout college football, according to ESPN’s Paul Finebaum.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey isn’t worried about post-2024 at this point with Oklahoma and Texas coming in. The Big Ten seems set at the moment as well with USC and UCLA.

Finebaum discussed the fluidity of conference expansion amid Colorado AD Rick George’s subtle comments about a Big 12 return.

“Well, I think let’s talk about the SEC for example,” Finebaum said on McElroy and Cubelic. “You see how difficult it is to incorporate two major programs. So I think for a league like ours, it may be further away. But I think the Big 12, I think the Pac-12, those leagues are in play right now, because there’s so much chaos going on every day. 

“There’s speculation about another school in the running. I think the Big Ten and the SEC are stable. I think everyone else is in flux. And I included the ACC in that because depending on what day of the week it is, I couldn’t tell you which way that league is going other than uncertainty.”

The ACC has the “Magnificent Seven,” which is a group of schools that examined the Grant Rights of the conference. As far as if those teams would leave, that’s up in the air.

While Sankey is excited for the 15th and 16th schools, respectively, he didn’t elaborate further.

“Well, we’ve got Crimson and Cream as they say and Burnt Orange coming in; so those are two qualities we’ve looked for,” Sankey said. “I’m not one who’s been talking about expanding. Now, I have other colleagues who’ve said, ‘we’re not done or we want to go to the West.’ We’ve very much focused on growing the 16 and the strength that will be present here. 

“We’re fully (aware) on what’s happening around us and as we go to our meetings beginning the week, we’ll have an opportunity to look at the landscape. But we have not been recruiting, we’ve not been on the phone. We have been paying attention, will be paying attention. But we’re focused on the strength of our 16.”

Athletic director Rick George, on the other hand, reiterated Colorado’s standing in the Pac-12, for now.

“We’re members of the Pac-12, we’re proud members of the Pac-12 and we’ve got to see where our media rights deal lands and where our conference goes,” George said. “In a perfect world, we’d love to be in the Pac-12, but we also have to do what’s right for Colorado at the end of day. We’ll evaluate things as we move forward.”