Big 12 a last resort after no SEC or Big Ten invite for Louisville, NC State, VA Tech, GA Tech, Miami, and Pitt

Longtime college sports radio host Greg Swaim reported that the Big 12 is a last resort for Louisville, NC State, VA Tech, GA Tech, Miami, and Pitt if those schools don't receive a conference invite from either the SEC or the Big Ten.

"As we talked about a year ago, with here and on the show, Card Nation, NC State, VT, GT, The U and Pitt are known to be interested in the Big 12, should things go bad, and they don't get an SEC or B10 offer," Swaim wrote.

Schools from the ACC are reportedly bracing for a Pac-12-like collapse from the conference.

"As we've been talking about for at least a year, the ACC as a power conference is on it's deathbed, as FSU and Clemson will eventually leave...but they're not even close to the only ones," Swaim wrote. "Don't think for a minute that what they witnessed a year ago with the meltdown of the Pac-12 doesn't expedite the situation somewhat, and there are some similarities."

Private equity-fueled Big 12 rise to Power 3 status unclear

If schools are still looking for SEC and Big Ten invites, evidently, the Big 12 is not on their level. Geographically, the SEC and B1G make more sense for those schools, but if there really was a private equity-fueled rise to Power 3 status, it'd seem like a Big 12 invite would mean more.

It's the third wheel, though. And the Big 12 is still far behind the SEC, Big Ten, and even the ACC, in blue-chip recruits for the 2025 class.

Conference reputation is something that's earned through winning, and the schools the Big 12 has added in the past two years have bigger reputations (Utah, Colorado, UCF, Cincinnati) than trophy cases.

The Big 12 still has some ground to make up in the Power Conference arms race, evidently.