Colorado held a meeting of its Board of Regents on Wednesday to discuss a move from the Pac-12 back to the Big 12, according to multiple reports.

The meeting on Wednesday was listed as a “Special Board Meeting” with the posted agenda listing the purpose of the meeting as discussing “legal advice on a specific matter – athletics operations.” A second “Special Board Meeting” has been scheduled for Thursday, July 27, in the afternoon. An agenda for the second meeting has not yet been posted.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that the discussions are, in fact, centered around a move to the Big 12. Thamel also reported that the Big 12 will hold a meeting of league presidents Wednesday night.

From Thamel’s report:

The school is mulling a potential move to the Big 12, according to sources, and Wednesday’s meeting represents a potential a step in the process for university officials to approve a move there, according to sources. Colorado has discussed athletics in a private session multiple times in recent months, but sources indicate the tenor of this meeting is different.

Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported that the Pac-12 also held a meeting of its own board on Wednesday where commissioner George Kliavkoff “provided an update on the media rights negotiations.” According to Dellenger, Colorado’s representation at the meeting gave no indication the school was discussing a move.

At Pac-12 Media Day last Friday, Kliavkoff said he was not concerned about possible defections as he tries to secure the next media deal.

“I know where the sources of that are coming from,” he said when asked about the narrative that the Pac-12 was on the verge of collapse. “I discount that because I know the truth.”

Following last week’s media event in Vegas — an event that came and went without an announcement of a new media rights contract for the league — chatter around a Colorado departure has picked up in a major way. The Buffaloes have long been rumored as an expansion target for the Big 12, and speculation of late suggested CU could be the first to move.

When USC and UCLA announced their planned departure last summer, the news hit prior to the 2022 media event. On the main stage in Los Angeles last year, Kliavkoff warded off concerns about a Big 12 coup, expressed confidence in the deal the league would be able to fetch, and opened the door to Pac-12 expansion.

A year later, nothing has happened. Frustration levels appear to be mounting at CU.

The Buffaloes left the Big 12 following the 2010 season. They failed to produce a winning record in any of their final 5 seasons in the league. In 11 full seasons with the Pac-12 thus far, CU has enjoyed just a single season with a winning record. (Colorado went 4-2 in 2020.) They’ve won more than 3 conference games in a season just 1 time.

But the hire of Deion Sanders as the program’s next head football coach has led to something of a brand renaissance in Boulder. Talent from both the high school ranks and the transfer portal flocked to CU with Coach Prime at the helm. The spring game was a sellout for the first time in program history. And excitement is high for the 2023 season.

Despite a 1-11 record last fall, CU has quickly turned into an attractive chip in this latest round of conference realignment. If the Buffs do indeed leave the Pac-12, speculation about further departures would explode.