Will a Pac-12 AAC Merger or a Pac-12 MWC Partnership be the Key to George Kliavkoff's Conference Revival

One of the potential ways to save the Pac-12 would be a Pac-12 AAC merger with the American Conference. That seems to be one of the more likely situations, as a Group of Five conference would want to seemingly get promoted to a Power Five.

College football insider Jim Williams tweeted about Oliver Luck beginning a list of teams to be added to the Conference of Champions. He does not reckon it means all other options are off the table.

"Oliver Luck will be starting the process of working on what teams should be added to the PAC 4 from the American and the Mountain. A list of about 12 teams will be reviewed. This DOES NOT mean a partnership or merger is off the table it just means they have a process in place."

While a Pac-12 AAC merger could still be in the cards, what Luck is doing is the next step logically. Creating a list of teams you'd want to target is something that should have been done a while ago for conference expansion.

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Does a Pac-12 AAC merger make sense for both conferences?

A Pac-12 AAC merger definitely could happen throughout the next year as we learn more about the Conference of Champions' fate. Despite it not being the Pac-12's only option, it's clear that it's definitely up there on the list.

While a Pac-12 AAC merger would make sense in terms of teams and keeping the conference alive, a merger would not be the best idea. If the Pac-12 were to merge, it seems likely to be with the Mountain West due to proximity.

That does not mean the Pac-12 would not want any of the teams from the American Conference, as that seems to be obvious at this point. However, adding a handful of programs from the American feels more likely, as the Pac-12 with its four teams cannot survive as a fully national league.

That would help bolster a media rights deal for the Pac-12, as media companies will know exactly what they'd be getting. The American already believes they're a Power Five conference, so why would they want to merge to get to that point?

While it feels like something that could happen, we're still a few steps away from it. Hopefully Luck can figure out what it takes to keep the Pac-12 from going extinct.