This is major news, sparked in part by the revelation on Monday that the ACC will be launching its own network, leaving the Big 12 as the only Power 5 school without some type of television network.
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Colorado State President Tony Frank mentioned getting the Big 12 back into the Denver market and that the football stadium expansion was “on time and on budget” in a separate email to Gee.
Expansion is on the table for the conference after its presidents and chancellors voted unanimously Tuesday to have commissioner Bob Bowlsby “actively evaluate” the interest of universities who have contacted the Big 12 about joining.
After Bowlsby spoke with the media, David Boren spoke with Annabel Stephan about what criteria the Big 12 will make their decision off of, and a timeline of events. The Big 12 and conference expansion.
A source familiar with the Big 12’s thinking told SI.com on Tuesday that it looks “nearly definite” that the league will expand by two schools and “highly possible” the league could expand by four schools.
“BYU is know for its academic excellence and I believe we have an exceptional athletic program”, Holmoe said in a statement from the school.
TCU and West Virginia, for example, initially received pro rata shares upon joining the Big 12 until receiving a full share this year. It’s the same group of teams that’s hoped for a Big 12 invite for years. “It’s not yet a decision if any particular university or college – or even a definite decision about when we expand or the way, the form this would take”, Boren said. Expansion also seemed unlikely coming out of those meetings. But in June 2016, the Big 12 announced plans to officially re-institute a championship game.
The league hailed its round-robin schedule as the way to produce “One True Champion”, but the slogan looked silly when the Big 12 finished the 2014 season with co-champions.
Even though there’s strict guidelines to get in the conference, Boren didn’t rule out the possibility of not just adding two teams, but left the door open to add four. The Cougars had as many in the top 10 as the entire Big 12. “There are a number of factors that will be considered, and the commissioner will be evaluating as he contacts schools that have expressed interest to us”.
“We are looking not just for athletic partners or the TV following of a team, but also the academic standards of these schools and institutions and shared values with us”, Boren said. “It’s already covered in our contracts, does not require additional negotiation of the contracts”.
So, what do you make of today’s news, and who do you think the Big 12 should add, if anyone?
“I appreciate very much our [phone] conversation, and I appreciate the information you sent me”, Gee wrote to Hitt on October 6. But for now, with the power 5 not aiming to become a Super 4 or something of the sort, at least not right now, the Big 12 is more likely to chew up the American Conference and maybe elsewhere before it falls apart. As we know, UC, along with UConn, Memphis, Houston, UCF, USF, BYU and Colorado State have all thrown their hats in the ring as potential candidates. Now conference leadership will be meeting with schools.
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Plus, any new member wouldn’t receive a full payout right away, so the conference’s current members would be enriched by any expansion: around $8 million per school, per estimates based on a four-team expansion compiled by Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News.
