Report: Utah, Arizona State apply for Big 12 membership, conference to meet tonight

As the wheels keep turning on conference realignment, it appears we’re getting closer and closer to some major resolutions. And Utah could well be in the Big 12 at the end of it all.

According to a report from Jason Scheer, the senior editor and publisher of WildcatAuthority.com, Utah is expected to be accepted into the Big 12 as soon as tonight with an announcement coming within the next 48 hours.

Pete Thamel of ESPN adds that both Utah and Arizona State have applied for formal membership to the Big 12, with a call scheduled tonight between the Big 12’s presidents and chancellors to discuss their membership.

The Utes have been looking to make sure they’re taken care of in the event the Pac-12 folds.

With Oregon and Washington all but a done deal to the Big Ten, as of the latest national reports, and with Colorado already off to the Big 12 and Arizona likely to follow, the Pac-12 as a whole looks incredibly weak.

Utah would be protecting its own interests by moving to a conference that already has a secure television deal with rights secured for additional members.

The Pac-12 had hoped to cobble together a last-minute agreement to keep the league intact as conference realignment proceeds at full speed, but a proposal from the conference earlier this week was met with no agreement between the Pac-12 presidents and athletics directors.

The presidents and athletics directors were presented with the details on a possible TV agreement at the meeting.

On Friday, they met again and were unable to come to an agreement on a Pac-12 Grant of Rights that would be satisfactory for everyone, setting the conference realignment carousel spinning again.

With that information in hand, it allowed schools to begin vetting the deal against other potential options on the table. Clearly things began heating up at multiple spots on Friday, first with reports that Oregon and Washington would head to the Big Ten and later with news about Utah, Arizona State and Arizona.

The Arizona Board of Regents, which oversees both Arizona and Arizona State have already met to discuss a potential move to the Big 12 amid conference realignment.

Meanwhile, the Oregon Board of Trustees called an emergency meeting for Friday evening, voting unanimously to accept the Big Ten invite.