Rumor has it that the Pac-10 will invite Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Colorado to join.
This would create a super conference that rivals the SEC in terms of quality, but where would it put ASU and UA? Squarely on the bottom rung.
All six of those programs that would be invited are of the highest caliber (save for Colorado, but they are a work in progress and have historically been good).
ASU and UA would be in an "East" division with these other six teams, leaving the original Pac-8 to their own devices. We would suffer immensely for a few years, but a lot of Texas talent would come out west to get the chance to play against UT, UTAM and TT.
It's all in how you look at it: neither Arizona or Arizona State are entirely competitive, so a change of competition might turn the tide on recruiting and national significance.
UPDATE: Since this story is, well, huge, I decided to create a little table to discuss the "Big 8" as it were.
Records from 2010, in descending order:
As should be obvious, this would be a pretty good division. The quality of opponent would be a boon for ticket sales, as many fans would pay to see a highly-ranked Texas or Oklahoma team in the House of Heat.
My main concern with this is the loss of a yearly game against Washington State. That "automatic" win has been relied upon for years by the Sun Devils. We were 4-8 last season; it's not like we can just give those away. One can only hope that the improved competition brings improved recruiting, but that hasn't been the case for teams like Baylor.