The Pac-12 to stand pat at 12 members, announces that it will not pursue expansion

Expansion has been a hot topic ever since the SEC announced the addition of Texas and Oklahoma

The Pac-12 announced Thursday that it will not pursue expanding beyond the current 12 members. The conference, which entered into an alliance with the ACC and Big Ten on Tuesday, had been discussing the possibility of expansion ever since the SEC announced the addition of Texas and Oklahoma last month.

"Following consultation with our Presidents, Chancellors and Athletic Directors, the Pac-12 Conference has made the decision to not pursue expansion of our membership at this time," the conference announced in a statement. "This decision was made following extensive internal discussion and analysis, and is based on the current competitive strength and cohesiveness of our 12 universities. It is also grounded in our confidence in our ability as a conference to best support our student-athletes to grow and thrive both academically and athletically."

First-year Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff said at Pac-12 Media Day that expansion is just one alternative in an ever-evolving college athletics landscape.

"We didn't think it was necessary in order to continue to be strong and strive as a conference," he said. "It is a priority to consider all of the alternatives that have been presented to us. And we will do that in a very timely manner."

It's an interesting development on two fronts. 

The Big 12 has been left with eight teams following the departure of Texas and Oklahoma. It was reported that the Kliavkoff and Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby met to discuss several options including a schedule alliance and an outright merger. That would have allowed the Pac-12 to solve one of its major problems, getting eyeballs in the central and eastern time zones. 

Expansion would have also allowed the Pac-12 to beef up its football prowess, which has been lacking in recent years. The last Pac-12 team to make the College Football Playoff was Washington following the 2016 season. Since then, there hasn't been a team that has been in the mix on selection Sunday. 

In the end, the Pac-12 chose to stay put and hope that the alliance with the Big Ten and ACC will pay off in the long run -- even if football games with those two conferences won't ramp up until after out-of-conference matchups that have already been scheduled are played.