Thamel's realignment buzz: Latest on Pac-12, Big 12 and ACC - ESPN

Nearly two months ago in Washington, D.C., University of Arizona president Bobby Robbins sat on a panel with NCAA president Charlie Baker at an event Arizona organized about the future of college sports.

Little did Robbins know that within a few weeks, he'd be a central figure in determining the actual landscape of how college athletics is currently constructed.

With Colorado announcing its departure for the Big 12 last week, the future of the Pac-12 is uncertain. Commissioner George Kliavkoff has long told potential television partners he'd need clarity on what a television deal could look like by July 31.

The Pac-12 presidents are expected to meet Tuesday to finally get from Kliavkoff what they hope is a strong vision of what the league's television deal will look like.

«The expectation is these schools want clarity and details on a number and that a deal is going to eventually get done,» said an industry source. «They want to know, 'What are our deal options?'»

Arizona has been at the forefront for a potential move to the Big 12, as it had the most extensive talks with the league prior to the Colorado departure. A move by Arizona to the Big 12 would significantly weaken the Pac-12, putting an unstable league on the brink. And no one realizes this more than Robbins.

«He knows the gravity,» said a person familiar with Robbins' thinking. «He does not want to be the one to break apart the Pac-12.»

That's why sources say Arizona, Arizona State and Utah — the Pac-12's remaining three of the so-called Four Corner schools — are expected to lump their futures together.

As another industry source pointed out: «I don't see any of them having the fortitude to break up the Pac-12 themselves. They'll break as three. It's either