Longtime college sports radio host Greg Swaim reported that the Big 12 is the last resort for Louisville, NC State, VA Tech, GA Tech, Miami and Pitt if those schools do not receive a conference invitation from either the SEC or the Big Ten.

“As we discussed here and on the show about a year ago, Card Nation, NC State, VT, GT, The U and Pitt are known to be interested in the Big 12 if things go badly and they don’t get an offer from the SEC or B10,” Swaim wrote.

ACC schools are reportedly preparing for a conference collapse like the Pac-12.

“As we’ve been talking about for at least a year, the ACC is on its deathbed as a power conference, as FSU and Clemson will eventually leave it … but they’re not even close to being the only ones,” Swaim wrote. “Don’t think for a minute that what they experienced a year ago with the Pac-12 collapsing isn’t accelerating the situation somewhat, and there are some similarities.”

If schools are still looking for SEC and Big Ten invitations, the Big 12 is obviously not at their level. Geographically, the SEC and the B1G make more sense for these schools, but if there really is a Private equity-funded rise to Power 3 statusit seems like an invitation to the Big 12 would mean more.

However, it is the fifth wheel on the wagon. And the Big 12 still lags far behind the SEC, Big Ten and even the ACC in blue-chip recruits for the 2025 class.

A conference’s reputation is earned by winning, and the schools that have joined the Big 12 in the last two years have better reputations (Utah, Colorado, UCF, Cincinnati) than trophy cases.

Obviously, the Big 12 still has some ground to make up in the power conference arms race.