4 AAC schools could join Pac-12 expansion amid rumors of a possible merger with George Kliavkoff's shattered powerhouse

The latest college realignment murmurs indicate the Pac-12 could add four schools from the ACC in the near future.

After presenting a disappointing media rights deal, the Pacific-12 has seen eight of its 12 members leave. The departures mark a bleak future for the conference once heralded as the "Conference of Champions."

Commissioner George Klivakoff has been adamant the Pacific-12 will survive, and there have been talks of merging with the Mountain West or adding teams from other conferences.

According to CFB insider MHver3, the Pac-12 is now looking at four American Athletic Conference schools.

"So those 4 AAC schools that gave PAC4 a commitment to jump? Rice, Tulane, SMU, USF. Hearing Memphis would jump as well but were lower priority on PAC4 radar (that may have changed). Waiting on Calford to make decision now…."

Merging or adding schools from the ACC are the only options for the Pac-12. Should the conference be able to land commitments from Tulane, Rice, SMU and USF, as per MHver3, it would allow the Pacific-12 to remain a Power Five conference. MHver3 also reported Memphis is a possibility to join the Pacific-12.

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What other schools is the Pac-12 interested in?

On paper, those five schools that MHver3 reported make the most sense for the Pac-12.

However, merging with or adding schools from the MWC appears to be the likely route for the Pac-12. It isn't a surprise that Kliavkoff and Pac-12 made it clear the conference would continue after losing eight schools.

"Today’s news is incredibly disappointing for student-athletes, fans, alumni and staff of the Pac-12 who cherish the over 100-year history, tradition and rivalries of the Conference of Champions. We remain focused on securing the best possible future for each of our member universities," a Pacific-12 statement read.

Adding the five AAC teams could also result in another media rights deal being struck for the Pac-12.

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Pac-12 adds Oliver Luck as a consultant

Along with the Pac-12 looking to add more schools, the conference hired Oliver Luck, the father of former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, as a consultant.

Oliver will focus on keeping the four remaining Pac-12 schools and looking at expansion or mergers.

"He was a candidate for the Pac-12 commissioner job when George Kliavkoff was hired. Luck is a terrific back-channel operator who is deeply connected on a variety of levels. His initial task, I’m told by sources, is to evaluate the Pac-4’s assets and options," college insider John Canzano said when he broke the news.

The hope for many around college football is the Pac-12 will remain a conference and can figure out its next steps to survival.