Multiple outlets including The Athletic and ESPN.com have reported that new Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff planned to meet with Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby on Tuesday.
Per The Athletic's Max Olson, "Their meeting is expected to be a key first step in talks about whether the two conferences would benefit from strategically working together during college sports’ new phase of realignment."
Per ESPN.com's Kyle Bonagura, "The meeting does not signify an expectation for an official partnership to materialize, only that both commissioners are vetting options for how to move forward in the wake of Texas' and Oklahoma's decisions to leave the Big 12 for the SEC."
The Big 12 was thrust into disarray last month when Texas and Oklahoma informed the conference they were leaving for the SEC when eligible to do so in 2025.
In his public comments thus far, Kliavkoff has said he does not feel the Pac-12 necessarily needs to expand to match whatever conference realignment arms race the SEC has initiated, but that the Pac-12 had already received "significant inbound interest" from other schools in the wake of the Texas/Oklahoma fallout.
"We have a stable, highly successful and well positioned membership with a high bar to entry. Given our investments in football and men's basketball and our historic domination of other sports, we do not think expansion is required to continue to compete and thrive," Kliavkoff said at Pac-12 Media Day last week. "That said, the fallout from Texas and Oklahoma gives us an opportunity to once again consider expansion, and we've already had significant inbound interest from many schools. We will work with our presidents and chancellors to evaluate these opportunities. ...
"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."
Both reports Tuesday suggested the meeting of the conference commissioners would be mostly a listening and information-sharing session.
Meanwhile, Kliavkoff tweeted this:
