I don't understand this logic though. FOX and ESPN both just agreed to pay more money to these PAC schools by moving them into the Big 12 and Big 10 when they could have had them for a helluva lot cheaper had they stayed together. And now ESPN is panicking that they have no west coast inventory so they're going to shell out money for Stanford and Cal?
The people in charge of this sham are beyond stupid
The B1G took four schools that had about 75% of the eyeballs for the Pac12. The Big XII took regional schools that fit perfectly with the schools they have. Several rivalries were maintained or renewed.
B1G went nationwide in a major way. The Big XII shored up dominance in the southwest/mountain/plains region. When you go to a sports bar in those states, it’s going to be a Big XII bar. This is something the B1G enjoys in its core territory, as does the SEC. As they expand they lose that. St. Louis is not “SEC country” for example. Maryland certainly is not “Big Ten country”.
ACC taking UConn should be an easy decision for the same reason the corner schools made sense to the Big XII. They should have grabbed Rutgers long ago too.