After a meeting of the Big 12 university presidents and chancellors on Tuesday, Oklahoma President David Boren says the conference is still considering whether to add two or four teams to its 10 members.
Advertisement
AMS: To recap today’s teleconference: the Big 12 Conference board unanimously voted today to have Commissioner Bob Bowlsby to get back in touch with schools that have inquired into possible conference expansion. “Other schools have come to us. I don’t know where we are on that, but it’s very important”.
But those schools plus two or four more, some with national followings (BYU) or in good sized media markets (Houston, Central Florida) could be enough to reopen discussions, and digital platforms will become a major talking point.
“We intend to exercise the full prerogative of what we negotiated”, Bowlsby said. But while many ideas have been discussed at UConn, that is considered hard to execute. Now it is time to get down to the nitty gritty of hearing what potential expansion targets like Cincinnati, Houston, Memphis, UCF and BYU among others have to say, because the phone lines to Bowlsby’s offices at the Big 12 headquarters are now open and expected to be ringing off the hook until the Big 12 settles on their final decision.
One would think Houston is an obvious choice due to the emergence of the football program, but who knows how Texas, Baylor, TCU and Texas Tech would feel about another Power Five school in the state competing for the same recruits. There ought to be a home for us in the Big 12.
The Big 12 could have a championship game and four new football members as soon as 2017. The Cougars had as many in the top 10 as the entire Big 12. The Huskers can remain a middling team in the Big Ten West with Minnesota and Iowa for all I care.
Again, the idea that a championship game is needed to enhance a league’s chances of getting into the playoff is flat-out dumb.
The vote also was another move to fortify the Big 12’s position in the college football landscape. In other words, if every team in the Big 12 is making $25 million per year from the conference, each new team must add at least $25 million in revenues just to make sure every school is breaking even.
Boren had previously been a very outspoken advocate for expansion but quieted down across the summer, to the point where it seemed unlikely.
“Sometimes you may think you have to change your cell phone number because of the number of schools that want to express interest in coming to join the Big 12 Conference”, Boren half-joked.
The University of Memphis, considered a viable candidate on the strength of FedEx’s support, was one of several prospective expansion hopefuls releasing statements Wednesday. Even Boren was backing off.
Is this a rapid reaction to the ACC’s new TV deal with ESPN? “For right now, we’re extremely proud to be in the American Athletic Conference”. Alabama and Tennessee fly the Big 12 flag in rowing.
“I’ve been so impressed with what Art and the football program has accomplished over the last few years”, Grobe said.
Big 12 leaders have acknowledged that none of the schools most likely to be added are a natural fit.
Look, if you accept that you can’t get both passionate football and a big media market, then go for football.
Advertisement
“We are looking for members that will grow over time as we grow, that will bring stability to the conference, and that have a high top end”, Bowlsby said. News stories displayed here appear in our category for Sports and are licensed via a specific agreement between LongIsland.com and The Associated Press, the world’s oldest and largest news organization.
