Pac-12 expansion speculation includes San Diego State, SMU, Boise State, UNLV, Fresno State

What will the Pac-12 Conference do with Colorado joining the Big 12?

The Buffaloes' move leaves the Pac-12 with just nine teams (UCLA and USC are leaving for the Big Ten in 2024), by far the smallest for a Power 5 Conference.

It didn't take long for expansion speculation to return for the Pac-12 amid news of Colorado's return to the Big 12, the conference it had been in before joining the Pac-12 in 2011.

San Diego State, SMU, Boise State, Colorado State, UNLV and Fresno State are some often mentioned potential expansion candidates for the Pac-12 to add some schools to its ranks.

Check out some rumors and speculation about Pac-12 expansion amid Colorado's departure from the conference:

Big 12 expansion: Arizona Wildcats could leave Pac-12, Arizona State Sun Devils could stay

Pac-12 Conference to 'embrace expansion opportunities'

The Conference issued a statement on Thursday: "The Pac-12 is comprised of world-leading universities and athletic programs who share a commitment to developing the next generation of leaders, supporting student-athletes' academic and athletic excellence, and broad-based athletic success," the conference said in a statement. "We remain committed to our shared values and to continuing to invest in our student-athletes.  Today's decision by the University of Colorado has done nothing to disrupt that commitment. We are focused on concluding our media rights deal and securing our continued success and growth. Immediately following the conclusion of our media rights deal, we will embrace expansion opportunities and bring new fans, markets, excitement and value to the Pac-12."

247 Sports: SMU interesting expansion option for Pac-12

Brad Crawford wrote: "TThe Dallas market is the obvious draw here for the Pac-12, which would extend into Big 12 country with a team in Texas. At the time, Canzano also mentioned that the Pac-12 was confident its new media deal would beat the Big 12's partnership. That remains to be seen, but it's considerably late in the game and current Pac-12 members seem to be antsy waiting on the announcement. This is why we saw Colorado's jump to the Big 12."

Fansided: Boise State makes sense for Pac-12 in expansion

Chris Peterson wrote: "Boise State makes a lot of sense. I’d argue a trade of Colorado for Boise State really isn’t that bad. But replacing USC and UCLA is much more difficult. Say the Pac-12 chooses San Diego State and Fresno State, along with the Broncos to get to 12. Would that move the needle in terms of a media rights deal? I doubt it, outside of the fact that the league’s future would feel much more solidified. It could also make the area harder to recruit for Pac-12 teams if Boise State and San Diego State are suddenly Power-5 programs. But if the choice is adding teams or losing teams, there really isn’t much of a choice and if the Pac-12 wants to survive, it’s going to have to expand sooner rather than later."

Big 12 expansion speculation: Arizona State, Arizona to follow Colorado from Pac-12?

John Canzano: Pac-12 will try to 'trade up' for Colorado in expansion

The Pac-12 Insider wrote: "Pac-12 CEO Group has called a meeting for this afternoon. The conference ADs will be included on the call. A member of the CEO Group told me they will 'discuss the opportunity to ‘trade up’ through expansion given Colorado's decision."

Sports Illustrated: Pac-12 must expand now to save conference

Kevin Borba wrote: "The whole notion of expanding once the media rights deal was cool and dandy in theory, but it obviously has come back to bite the Pac-12. Many insiders believed the Pac-12 should have expanded first then secured a deal, and now they are on life support and will need to rely on expansion to save them. A less than ideal situation to be in. The media rights deal will be even more of a tough sell to conglomerates now, so adding programs and showing stability would make a huge difference. The Pac-12 needs to invite their top two candidates of San Diego State and SMU, but they cannot stop there. Adding Colorado State to retain the Denver market seems like a fairly obvious move, and adding another program like a UNLV or Hawaii. The fourth slot is a wild card, but the Pac-12 may not be in position to be valuing academics and geography as much as they have."

Big 12 expansion odds: Pac-12's Arizona, Arizona State favorites to next join conference

Salt Lake Tribune: San Diego State, SMU, Boise State potential expansion candidates for Pac-12

Kevin Reynolds wrote: "If Kliavkoff, now without Colorado, can still come up with a deal that mirrors the revenue from the Big 12, maybe the remaining nine members can stick together. Then the Pac-12 could also look to expand with San Diego State, SMU and Boise State as potential candidates. But those are all big question marks. And even if Kliavkoff can find a deal lucrative enough, there is the fear of how fast that can happen."

San Jose Mercury News: Pac-12 has no choice but to expand to survive

Jon Wilner wrote: "The Pac-12 presidents spent a year mulling whether to expand the conference following the announced departures of the Los Angeles schools. Now, they seemingly have no choice. Colorado’s presumptive departure to the Big 12 next summer will leave the Pac-12 with nine teams for the 2024 football season. That’s more than enough to meet NCAA and College Football Playoff requirements but creates a plethora of challenges, with the football schedule near the top of the list. A nine-game conference rotation doesn’t work with nine teams."

More: Big 12, Pac-12 conference split for Arizona, ASU? Wildcats president addresses potential

College Football News: San Diego State, UNLV, SMU could join Pac-12

Pete Fiutak wrote: "The Pac-12 hangs on to Arizona - but just barely - as social media goes off predicting the demise of the conference, and come November there’s a decent enough media deal in place that keeps everyone around for two years. (Side Best Guess: the writer/actor strike will make at least one media giant panic for content just enough to overpay a wee bit for Pac-12 sports.) Kliavkoff will buy just enough time to keep everyone else in place, and once the numbers are set, that’s when San Diego State, UNLV, and SMU come aboard."

Yahoo Sports: Pac-12 needs to expand in wake of Colorado's exit to Big 12

Ross Dellenger wrote: "Colorado’s potential exit leaves the Pac-12 in a precarious position on many levels. The Pac-12 was expected to play a nine-game conference schedule in 2024. With only nine members, the schedule would need to be reduced to eight or teams would have to hurriedly scramble to find a fourth non-conference opponent — a difficult and expensive task with a year’s notice. Another scenario exists: The Pac-12 poaching expansion targets SMU or/and San Diego State. San Diego State was preparing to accept a Pac-12 invitation and join in 2024 before a June 30 deadline passed without any invite. The school would now owe the Mountain West roughly $35 million in an exit fee, double the $17 million it would owe before the deadline date. SMU’s exit-fee situation is unclear."

More: Arizona to Big 12? Conference expansion speculation swirls around Pac-12's Wildcats

Trojans Wire: Boise State, Fresno State, UNLV potential expansion options for Pac-12

Matt Zemek wrote: "Fresno State’s presence in California — and not that far from Los Angeles (farther than San Diego by roughly 100 miles) — ostensibly gives the Pac-12 a chance to create a deeper presence in California, especially if it can add San Diego State. However, Fresno State’s football brand is not as robust as Boise State’s. If we have established that Boise State isn’t going to make Oregon and Washington reconsider leaving the Pac-12, Fresno State isn’t going to be any different."

Athlon Sports: UNLV, SMU, San Diego State, Fresno State, Colorado State, Boise State candidates to replace Colorado in Pac-12

Steven Lassan writes: "UNLV has struggled mightily on the gridiron in recent years. The Rebels have just one bowl appearance since '01 and three since '90. However, with a prime location in Las Vegas and a growing pro sports scene, UNLV has a few factors working in its favor - even if it's a major longshot."

More: Pac-12 Conference collapse, demise predicted by college analyst Paul Finebaum

Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Pac-12 expansion speculation swirls amid Colorado's Big 12 departure