The second came tumbling down this morning when Colorado announced it was also deserting the Big 12 and coming to the Pac-10.
Now, it looks as all hell is about to break loose.
Now that the conference has 11 teams (certainly an odd number), rumors were that a quintet of teams from Texas and Oklahoma would join the Pac-10.
Texas (the most coveted team), Oklahoma (also an ideal choice) would allegedly join forces with Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State to create the Pac-16.
The six newcomers from the Big 12 would be lumped into one division with ASU and the U of A. The eight other current Pac-10 schools would make up the other division.
In short, the Pac-16 would look like this:
Eastern Division: Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech.
Western Division: California, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington and Washington State.
Is your head spinning yet?
However, there are also rumors that all of this talk was maybe a bit premature.
In the latest gossip, Texas and Texas A&M would bolt for the Big Ten, while Oklahoma would joun the SEC. Oklahoma State, meanwhile, would be the 12th team in the Pac-10.
As Lee Corso would say: "Not so fast, my friend" -- these are still only rumors.
At this point, though, the Pac-10 might try to sway Florida International or Harvard to join, for all we know. Hell, maybe the University of Phoenix could start an athletic program.
What we do know is that ASU is getting a new conference foe in Colorado and probably another one to make an even 12 teams. Our best guess is Oklahoma State.
This bodes well for the Sun Devils, who beat the Buffs in 2006 and 2007.
