Pac-12 Conference: Pete Thamel offers latest update on realignment, potential next moves

ESPN’s Pete Thamel offered the latest update on the Pac-12 realignment and what schools could be added next.

Just like On3’s Pete Nakos reported, there are a handful of American Athletic schools that could be on the target list. But wait, there’s more.

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Traditional powers Cal and Stanford could be on their way back west, as Thamel said it would be the “dream scenario.”

“Well Rece, it’s a six-pack, we know we’ll have Pac-12 after dark in some form come 2026,” Thamel said on ESPN College GameDay. “But the question about Pac-12 after dark will be, what will it look like when the league comes to light? The one certainty that we know Rece, is that this league will not have an automatic bid to the College Football Playoff. From there, two big questions loom.

“One is, what two teams will they add to make the eight team league minimum? And the other is, how much money will they command from a media deal on the open market?”

Money is the big obstacle here. But Cal and Stanford returning to the Pac-12 would be quite the pivot after joining the ACC this season.

Right now, the Pac-12 is set ot have six teams in 2026, a new look for the conference. But the readditions of Cal and Stanford would make it eight, plus some targets from the AAC.

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“As for targets, the dream scenario is Cal and Stanford come back west,” Thamel said. “That would necessitate some ACC uncertainty, and is certainly not a guarantee. That they go from there to target high end American schools. Think Memphis, think South Florida, obviously, think Tulane. Those schools, though, are making about $9 million a year in American, and there’s no certainty that they make that much money in the Pac-12. 

“And if they did, there’s obviously extreme travel costs to play in a league like that. So for now some questions loom as the six-pack needs to grow to an eight pack.”