So let's check the math - the Big 12 reportedly has invites open to 6 Pac-10 schools.
That's gotta include CU, ASU, UA, UO, and UW. No way it includes OSU, WSU, or Cal.
So who is #6, UU or Stanford? I could see arguments for and against both, the most obvious being that Stanford would never lower themselves to being in a conference with ****bailer, TCU, and BYU, and the Big 12 might be like, **** you, enjoy being independent and hoping for that Big 10 bid. The argument against UU is that BYU is blocking their invite. The arguments for Stanford is that they are an elite academic institution with a lot of money in a big market. The argument for UU is that they would bring a lot of excitement into the conference for the Holy War, they've been very good in football, and they also have a growing population with an increasing number of D1 recruits.
So what's keeping UA, ASU, and CU in the fold? Loyalty to the 4 schools being left behind, whomever they are? Financial guarantees? A sense of pride in being in a conference that thinks it's better than everyone else?
Loyalty is ****ing stupid, because UO and UW WILL stab everybody in the back (****, they'll do it in the front) the first chance they get. Financial guarantees is also stupid because there is no situation where unequal revenue sharing benefits CU, ASU, and UA over everyone else, UO and UW are going to get the lion's share if that's on the table. Which leads to the sense of pride in being in the Pac-10. I think that's actually it. Even though Pac-12 football has been a punchline for years, Pac-12 basketball is continuously disrespected, and pretty much everyone east of the Mississippi thinks of it as a G5 conference in all but name (even more so now), these dips in the Mountain and Pacific time zones think there's still something special about this dying conference. It's sickening.