The game of musical chairs in college football is unlikely to ever stop. The song continued late Wednesday and early into Thursday as the Pac-12 revived itself from near death by announcing the additions of Colorado State, Boise State, San Diego State, and Fresno State. That means the conference is now at six programs with Oregon State and Washington State still in the fold. 

The growth isn’t done, however. To maintain status, the Pac-12 must at least reach eight teams. Talks to fill those gaps have already begun behind the scenes and some of the 13 FBS programs in Texas could be impacted by the next shuffling of the deck. 

UTSA is one of those schools. The Roadrunners began their program in 2012 as WAC members before transitioning to Conference USA (2013-2022) and then into the American Athletic Conference. Sources tell me UTSA is open to discussions and may have already reached out to Pac-12 officials to gain insight into potential interest and financial options if an invite does come. 

Though, those same sources say this is in an embryotic stage and anything said right now is exploratory and more about information gathering than immediate action. San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in America and home to the 31st-largest television market. UTSA is also 33-10 since the start of 2021 and one of the emerging brands at the G5 level. 

Another program to watch on the Pac-12 front might be North Texas, though a source told Dave Campbell’s that no talks have been held between the Mean Green and the expanding Pac-12. Not yet at least. Denton is an ideal location, at least on paper, for the Pac-12 because of the Dallas-Fort Worth media market. Texas State with its large student population, burgeoning football program, and closeness to a growing city like Austin could also be a team to watch for the Pac-12 or the AAC given how the next few months go in realignment. Sources say the Bobcats are also reaching out to the Pac-12 to gauge potential interest and financial impact. 

Can I interest anyone in Texas State and UTSA becoming conference mates? 

The Pac-12 won’t be the only conference looking to expand. If the Mountain West wants to survive as a G5 conference (maybe a G6 now that the Pac-12 is likely knocked down a peg) it’ll need to backfill. One team that hoped for a MWC invite in the past was UTEP. The West Texas program could deal with less travel, make more television money, and create more regional rivalries if it was included in the MWC over Conference USA, especially if New Mexico State aslo made the move. 

This story likely takes several twists and turns, and the most likely scenario is most, if not all, of the Texas teams stay in their place, at least for now. There is no guarantee that the conference structure as we know it even exists in 10 years. The growing power of the SEC and Big Ten have struck fear into the rest of the country, as the jockeying for position to not be left out of the mix (and the College Football Playoff) has forced desperate moves like the ACC expanding to the Pacific Coast.