Will the Washington State Cougars join the American Athletic Conference amid rumors of a possible Pac-12 AAC merger?

The Washington State Cougars are one of four teams that remain in the Pac-12 as the conference has been decimated by realignment.

Cougars president Kirk Schulz recently spoke with Enrique Cerna, where he shared that the school is weighing realignment options. Brett McMurphy of The Action Network shared Schulz's comments, tweeting:

"Washington State president Kirk Schulz tells @enriquecerna, WSU has 3 options: join Mountain West, join AAC or rebuild Pac-12. 'The third option would be to sort of reconstitute or rebuild the Pac – I'll say Pac-X right now, there's 4 members left, but that could change literally w/in hours,' Schulz said. 'And so I think each of those we're pursuing in a parallel pathway & we want to evaluate what's going to be best for WSU.'"

Check out Brett McMurphy's tweet here.

While Washington State may want to rebuild the Pac-12, ultimately it may have no choice but to join another conference. The California Bears and Stanford Cardinal, who are the most coveted of the remaining four programs, have both reportedly been targeted for realignment.

The Atlantic Coast Conference recently held a vote on the addition of the Bears and Cardinal, with McMurphy sharing that the potential expansion fell one vote short of approval, tweeting:

"Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina & NC State are the ACC schools against adding Stanford & Cal, sources told @ActionNetworkHQ. 1st report by SI. W/only 11 of 15 schools (including Notre Dame) in favor, ACC expansion is 1 vote shy of required 75% (12 of 15) to add new members"

Check out Brett McMurphy's tweet here.

If the Bears and Cardinal wind up leaving the conference, the Cougars are likely to follow suit soon thereafter. While it is unclear if they will look to join the AAC, the option remains on the table.

How could a Pac-12 merger with the AAC look?

While the Pac-12 appears to be trending towards a collapse, a merger, with the American Athletic Conference or another conference, could save the conference.

College football analyst Jim Williams shared how a merger with the AAC could look for the Pac-12's remaining schools, tweeting:

"A PAC-American merger could be set where Stanford plays a pool of Cal, OSU, WSU, SMU, RICE, TULANE, USF, Navy, and Temple each year with the rest of the conference rotating on a yearly basis. Frankly it would be a schedule that fits their profile. Like the Big 12 helped make Texas happy, the American can make Stanford /pac happy! Welcome to college sports 2023 and beyond!"

Check out Jim Williams' tweet here.

While the direction of the Pac-12 remains unclear, all options remain on the table, including a potential merger with the AAC. The future of the conference, however, could be determined by the California Bears and Stanford Cardinal.