Big 12 AD Claims Nobody Wants The PAC-12 To Collapse

PublishedMarch 9, 2023 9:19 AM EST|UpdatedMarch 9, 2023 9:19 AM EST

Baylor AD Mack Rhoades claims he doesn't want to see the PAC-12 collapse.

The west coast conference continues to face massive problems as George Kliavkoff so far has failed to land a new media deal.

With every day that goes by without a new media deal in place, the PAC-12's position gets worse and worse.

Rhoades previously said the Big 12 had to be ready for potential "movement" out of the PAC-12, but he's now made it clear he's not hoping that happens.

"I don't know one athletic director in the Big 12, including myself, certainly including the commissioner, that is rooting and hoping that the Pac-12 dismantles. Nobody is wishing that ... Sincerely, truly we wish them the very best," Rhoades claimed on 365 Sports.

Will the Big 12 raid the PAC-12?

Rhoades might claim he doesn't want the PAC-12 to collapse, but that would very literally be cheering against his conference's own best interest.

The PAC-12 collapsing would be amazing for the Big 12. The conference would immediately steal Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah at a minimum.

UCF, Cincy, Houston and BYU will all start Big 12 play this year. Adding four more major brands would only help boost the conference.

Mack Rhoades knows this. If he doesn't, he's in the wrong line of work. So, why is he claiming he doesn't want to see a collapse? Is it possible he might not be accurately representing his feelings? It's not just possible. I would argue it's probable.

The PAC-12 collapsing, which isn't guaranteed, would be a gift for the Big 12. That's just a fact. It would immediately make the Big 12 stronger. So, if the leaders in Brett Yormark's conference are cheering against that, they're literally going against their own commissioner.

Yormark has been open about expanding west. When he says that, he means poaching PAC-12 teams.

Will the PAC-12 survive? (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

To be clear, the situation still remains incredibly fluid. There's no guarantee of anything happening, but let's be clear. George Kliavkoff's conference falling apart would be the best case scenario for the Big 12. There's just no way around it.