3 Big 12 football schools that the PAC-12 should target for expansion

Oklahoma State

One of the original PAC-12 expansion candidates within the last decade or so is the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Back when conference expansion discussions reigned supreme around the college athletics landscape in the early 2010s, it looked like some combination of the Longhorns, Sooners, and Pokes could join a new super conference like the PAC-16.

Yet, one of the big reasons that hypothetical expansion from the PAC-12 in the early 2010s didn’t work out, in the end, was the academic standards of Oklahoma State. The PAC-12 tries to hold their schools to high academic standards, which is likely why big-time athletic brands such as Oklahoma State and the Texas Tech Red Raiders weren’t added in the early 2010s.

But the narrative surrounding the idea of the PAC-12 adding a well-rounded athletic program such as Oklahoma State might change in the next round of conference expansion discussions. The PAC-12 has greatly slipped up in terms of gaining a competitive edge in big-time profit sports such as football and men’s basketball.

What Oklahoma State could bring to the table for the PAC-12, especially from the standpoint of football competitiveness and consistency, under head coach Mike Gundy might be too good to ignore. Gundy and the Pokes have become a staple in the Big 12 year in and year out in terms of the teams you can’t count out for the conference’s contenders.

Gundy would also certainly bring quite the polarizing character among head coaches to the PAC-12, which could be fun since Mike Leach left the Washington State Cougars job a couple of years ago.

Adding one of the more competitive and buttoned up schools from an athletic standout such as Oklahoma State could help the image of the PAC-12. And we could see if there’s any willingness to budge from either side in terms of academic standing and investment if the conference expansion conversation does come back around again involving the PAC-12.