The B1G Conference started the decimation of the Pacific-12 Conference, allegedly its Rose Bowl brethren, when it decided to poach Southern California colleges UCLA and USC last summer. Now, the B1G has continued its raid of the crumbling Conference of Champions by grabbing Oregon and Washington as predicted. But the reorganization of Power 5 membership in Division I has left two schools behind.

Cal and Stanford need no more introduction: lots of Olympic sports dominance, pretty good academics, et al. But allegedly, the football TV market in the Bay Area is unattractive, so the Bears and the Cardinal are left to fend for themselves despite 170-plus combined official NCAA titles. Stanford has practically owned the Directors’ Cup since it began, proving itself the top athletic department in the nation, by far. WTAF?!

Regardless, the B1G and now the ACC have passed on adding the two Bay Area universities to their respective memberships. So, why doesn’t the Big XII make a move for the dynamic duo? In losing both Oklahoma and Texas next year to the SEC and its corruption, the Big XII’s marquee schools have left—and that seems like a great time to add two different kinds of marquee schools to the lineup: academic ones.

Right now, the Big XII is projected to field 16 teams in 2024-2025, including former Pac-12 schools Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah. Why not just bump it up to 18 teams, as the B1G is doing for the same academic calendar year? The Big XII has recovered well from the loss of the Sooners and the Longhorns; why shouldn’t it go bigger with these two crown jewels of academics and Olympic sports? It should, soon.