For the Big 12, merging with the Pac-12 sure looked a whole lot sexier a day ago when USC and UCLA — now reportedly headed at some point in the near future to the Big Ten — were part of the potential total package.
But it might not be an option.
Expansion may be a necessary evolution to survival.
The SEC’s standing as the best league in college athletics became even stronger when it added Texas and OU last year (both of which will formally transition to the league by at least 2025). The Big Ten’s standing as No.