Weāre less than a month away from the opening week of the college football season, which means that Arizona sports betting fans have reason to rejoice.
Between the Arizona Wildcats (who kick off their season Sept. 3 against San Diego State) and the Arizona State Sun Devils (who play NAU on Sept. 1), thereās no shortage of on-field intrigue for football fans entering the fall.
When the games do begin, BetArizona.com is the home for the best Arizona sports betting promo codes.
Off the gridiron, the main question surrounding both schools is the future of their athletics programs.
Thatās thanks to the salvo fired by USC and UCLA in the early morning hours of July 1, when both Pac-12 cornerstones announced theyād jettison nine decades worth of tradition to join the Big Ten in all sports.
That leaves the other 10 universities left to fend for themselves, as pundits ponder whether the conference will be able to withstand losing two of its most prestigious programs.
While weāre forced to sit back and wait for the smoke signals to emanate from Tempe and/or Tucson, we can glean some information about their future conference affiliations from what weāve learned so far.
We know the Pac-12 will likely survive in its current form until at least 2024, when the conferenceās media rights deal expires and the Trojans and Bruins depart for the Big Ten.
The conference will almost assuredly explore expansion, with San Diego State leading the BetArizona.com odds board of likely new Pac-12 members.
Hereās a look at where BetArizona.com sees Arizona and Arizona State winding up in the years ahead.
Arizona Next Conference Odds
How We See the Wildcats' Future
Our calculations about Arizona stem in large part from the schoolās longstanding commitment to academics and its relationship to the remaining Pac-12 members.
The Wildcats are one of 63 universities in the country to achieve Association of American Universities status, meaning they are considered a worldwide leader in āinnovation, scholarship, and solutions that contribute to scientific progress, economic development, security, and well-being,ā as the AAUās website states.
Of those 63 schools, nine are members of the current iteration of the Pac-12 (Arizona, Utah, Oregon, Cal, Stanford, USC, UCLA, Colorado, and Washington), compared to the Big-12ās two members (Kansas and Texas).
Quite simply, Arizona would have an awkward fit academically and socially with the Big 12ās current member institutions.
While we know academics doesnāt run the show in collegiate athletics, itās a hard sell for university presidents to leave an established academic juggernaut like the Pac-12 for a lesser setup, such as the Big 12.
After that, the only other options (realistically) for the Wildcats are either to somehow enter the Big Ten (which seems nigh impossible, given the conferenceās refusal to accept more established programs, Oregon and Washington).
It doesnāt seem like the Wildcats would take a step down from the āPower Fiveā as far as conference affiliation is concerned, so thereās not much of a shot theyād leave for the Mountain West Conference.
Finally, the days in which a program could go independent in football are dead and gone, with Notre Dame being the only successful program to go it alone on the gridiron.
Even the Fighting Irish are considering abandoning their long-held football independence, speaking to the lack of value schools see in staying outside the current conference setup for football.
That leaves Arizona hoping the Ducks and Huskies donāt bail out on the Pac-12, as itās the best option that the Wildcats have at the moment.
Arizona State Next Conference Odds
How We See the Sun Devils' Future
One theme thatās emerged under the leadership of President Michael Crow and Athletic Director Ray Anderson is the Sun Devils are not fans of change.
One can discern that, simply by monitoring how the school has stuck it out with embattled head football coach Herm Edwards, even after the NCAA announced an investigation into illegal recruiting tactics.
Somehow, Edwards has managed to retain his job, even though five assistant coaches (including defensive coordinator Antonio Pierce and offensive coordinator Zak Hill) resigned due to the NCAAās investigation this offseason.
It appears thereās a staunch commitment to the status quo, which means folks like Crow and Anderson are probably loath to undertake a multiyear rebuild of the schoolās culture that comes with changing conferences.
Another facet to remember is Crow loves to, well, crow about how ASU is a leader in āinnovation,ā with the longtime ASU president spouting off one-liners about how the Sun Devils rank ahead of schools like Stanford and Harvard by that metric.
Itās hard to see Crow turning around and abandoning the Cardinal to leave for the Big 12, so thatās why we put them at a higher percentage to remain in the Pac-12 than their in-state rivals in Tucson.
After that, thereās really no other option for ASU. Just as with Arizona, the Big Ten wonāt come calling, and taking a substantial cut in media revenue to play in the Mountain West or as an independent would be a no-go for any wise college administrator right now.
That means the Sun Devils and Wildcats, whether they like it or not, are destined to likely remain in the āConference of Championsā in the years ahead, playing schools like Oregon State and Washington State, instead of Texas Tech and Kansas State.
2022 Pac-12 Football Championship Odds
According to Arizona betting apps, the Arizona and Arizona State football programs wonāt be giving their fans reason to forget the two schools are on delicate ground when it comes to conference affiliation.
The Sun Devils and Wildcats are in the bottom five in title odds, and both schoolsā odds have gotten worse in the last month.
