EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Once again, conference realignment has caused college athletics to look completely different.

Six teams vacated the Pac-12 last week, as Oregon and Washington left to join UCLA and USC in the Big Ten and Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah all joined forces to head to the Big 12. The mass migration left only Cal, Oregon State, Stanford and Washington State remaining in the once-proud Pac-12.

There don’t appear to be many moves for the four remaining Pac-12 schools to make at this point. Reports emerged on Monday that the ACC’s presidents planned to meet to discuss the possibility of Cal and Stanford joining the league. Elsewhere, it seems possible that OSU and WSU could join the Mountain West, but nothing is assured at this point.

The same could be said for bowl games with tie-ins with the Pac-12 like the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl. The 90th edition of the game on Dec. 29, 2023, could be the last time the bowl features a school from the Pac-12, if the league’s collapse continues.

The Sun Bowl has partnered with the Pac-12 since 1995; currently, the game is under contract with the ACC, CBS and Pac-12 through the 2025 Sun Bowl. However, if the Pac-12 totally falls apart, then the contract would be void; there’s also clauses in the contract that could allow the Sun Bowl to get out before the 2025 end date.

That would be crucial, because all of the major conference realignments will take place prior to the 2024 season. If the Pac-12 is left with no leg to stand on, the Sun Bowl will need to move quickly to find a replacement conference to pair with the ACC.

Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl executive director Bernie Olivas told KTSM on Monday that the ACC was still interested in partnering with the bowl; CBS has broadcast the game every year since 1968 and has not appeared to show any interest in letting the Sun Bowl go by the wayside.

If the Pac-12 does fold, Olivas told KTSM that he would prefer to go after either the Big 12 or the Big Ten. Both conferences have partnered with the bowl before, opposite the Pac-12. With eight Pac-12 teams joining either the Big 12 or the Big Ten in time for 2024, too, either one would make sense.

“If it comes to that, obviously, the Big 12 makes a lot of sense because geographically, a lot of the schools are closer to El Paso than some of the other ones, but the Big Ten has a great menu of schools as well,” Olivas said. “I think either one would be fantastic. We’ve been associated with both conferences in the past and they were both great conferences to work with. They’ve both sent us some fabulous schools to play in the Sun Bowl.”

The Big Ten could also be an option because of the league’s new television contract with CBS. That tie-in could help the Sun Bowl.

Overall, Olivas’ only worry is getting the Sun Bowl situated for the future. He and his have calls in this week with the Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-12 to try and see where there next move could be made.

“I really don’t have a preference. We just want to make sure we land in a good spot and I think we will,” Olivas said.