How long will the Pac-4 teams survive in Power 5? Exploring recent Pac-12 merger attempts from Commissioner George Kliavkoff

The Pac-4 teams - Oregon State, California, Washington State and Stanford - are trying to assess their future and if they can survive together.

Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff has been looking at Pac-4 expansion and merger opportunities with other conferences to keep the core together, but things aren't looking good. With no media rights deal, there's no money coming in beginning on July 1, 2024, the same date the other eight programs leave.

That brings the question of how long can the Conference of Champions survive as a Power Five conference. Things have gone wrong for them in every direction recently, so figuring out the expiration date is critical. That July 1, 2024 date seems to be the major key.

The Pac-4 teams cannot survive together without an influx of money from a TV deal. Until they sign off on one, they're in a terrible position. No teams are going to join until that's figured ou,t but at this point, they're going to need to merge to survive as a group.

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Who could the Pac-4 teams merge with at this point?

The Pac-4 teams, and Oliver Luck specifically, has been trying to find a conference to merge with.

One potential conference would be the Mountain West, as they're very close in proximity. MWC Commissioner Gloria Nevarez told ESPN that she' open to a merger, but talks are in early stages, though.

"A lot of it is just trying to sort fact from fiction out there. There's so much information about what's going on, and not all of it is true.

"From my perspective, it's been a matter of connecting with our athletic directors and contacts that I have in the industry to try to provide our board the best information out there. ... We're open to everything. Nothing is being shut down at this point."

However, there are other options if the Pac-4 teams decide that a merger is not the course of action.

The American Conference has also talked about taking the teams but is not interested in a potential merger. A source spoke to Eric Prisbell of On3 Sports and mentioned how the AAC views itself as a great fit for the four schools.

"We would be a good landing spot for those schools, given our existing ESPN deal, which has a strong linear component, along with our major cities and institutional profiles."

The Pac-4 has key decisions to make, as things are going to be interesting to see how their future shapes up.