PAC-12 Reportedly Leaning Against Expanding, And That's Bad News For Two Teams

PublishedJuly 24, 2023 9:05 AM EDT|UpdatedJuly 24, 2023 9:05 AM EDT

The PAC-12 might stick with 10 teams after USC and UCLA leave the conference.

The Bruins and Trojans will join the Big Ten summer 2024, and that will drop the PAC-12 to 10 teams if the conference still exists by then.

As of Monday morning, the conference has still not announced a new media deal. Speculation is swirling one is close to being done, but it remains to be seen whether or not the PAC-12 is actually at the finish line.

Will the PAC-12 expand past 10 teams starting in 2024? (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

PAC-12 is likely leaning against adding new teams.

Now, it seems like the dreams of SMU and SDSU joining the conference at some point will be put on ice.

Yahoo Sports reported PAC-12 programs "continue to lean away from the idea of expanding beyond 10 schools, potentially leaving out San Diego State and SMU which are considered the top expansion targets."

That's bad news for the Mustangs and Aztecs, especially the latter.

Will SDSU and SMU be left out in the cold when it comes to realignment. (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Will the conference add more teams?

The conference already teased SDSU for months. It looked like an invite to the PAC-12 was imminent. The Aztecs were so confident that the school informed the MWC it was likely leaving.

Instead, no PAC-12 invite came, SDSU had to go crawling back to the Mountain West and it kicked off a minor civil war in the MWC.

Now, the conference reportedly isn't rushing to add new teams to fill the holes left by USC and UCLA. Of course, none of this matters if a new media deal isn't announced soon.

Will the PAC-12 ever add San Diego State? (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)

Without a new media deal, there won't be a PAC-12 to argue about. All signs indicate that's coming soon, but if we've learned one thing during all this chaos, it's that nothing is final until the ink dries. Keep checking back for any and all updates as we have them.