Here is a solution that may work especially since the PAC-12 and Big Ten seem somewhat married to Fox Sports, and television networks are driving these changes according to Bob Bowlsby:
Big Ten adds the following four PAC-12 programs:
California, USC, UCLA, and Stanford. The Big Ten has not bared the PAC-12 cupboard, but adds value. The Big Ten now has 18 teams. Divide them in three divisions.
- USC, UCLA, Stanford, California, Nebraska, and Northwestern.
- Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Penn State, and Purdue.
- Ohio St, Michigan, Indiana, Maryland, Rutgers, and Michigan St.
This leaves the PAC-12 with at least three strong programs that can compete fairly well regularly on a national level. The PAC-12 adds the remaining Big 8 teams, and perhaps a few others like BYU and Houston, or Boise St. The new PAC-12 has some interesting regional rivalries and could be divided into two divisions:
- Oregon, Washington, Washington St., Oregon St, Arizona St., Arizona, Utah, BYU/Houston/or Boise St
- Oklahoma State, Kansas, K-State, Iowa State, Colorado, TCU, Baylor, Texas Tech
West Virginia is sent to the ACC.
For basketball, a round-robin schedule of 17 Big Ten games can be played, and to get to 20-conference games add 3 regional rivalry conference games to the schedule.
Adding Notre Dame is the best solution to all this, but unless Notre Dame is threatened with loss of its NBC TV contract, or with narrowing of its access to it to a national title game, Notre Dame will not be coming into the Big Ten.
