“But it’s definitely a forward step, and I think it shows momentum on the board to very seriously consider this as a possibility”, he said. “Not a decision yet”. You can’t blame the Big 12 for saying publicly it was not looking to expand until Media Days.
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On a conference call following a meeting of the league’s board of directors (the university presidents), Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby and Oklahoma president David Boren all but said to Cincinnati, Houston, BYU and all other interested candidates: go ahead. “Now once we start football practice, I might have to kick them in the seat of the trousers once in a while”, says Grobe.
Baylor officials told Big 12 presidents on Tuesday that the school doesn’t have a full written report from Pepper Hamilton, the Philadelphia law firm it hired last fall to examine the way it handled allegations of sexual assault, and that releasing a written report would violate federal law protecting student privacy. Revenues for Big 12 teams are roughly $15 million more than the annual haul for Mountain West teams.
The Big 12 does have major programs such as Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas, but the other Power Five conferences have a combination of top-tier programs and depth that the Big 12 desperately needs to build for the future.
So who will be the teams that will join the Big 12 in this latest round of expansion?
The lack of a championship game in the inaugural season of the College Football Playoff in 2014 cost the TCU Horned Frogs a bid in the 4 team playoff.
Bowlsby said Tuesday that the conference will speak to candidates and engage in a fact-finding mission before reporting back to league presidents.
BYU: There may be no bigger program with a built-in national fan base the Big 12 could add. The Cougars are a known football commodity and would bring a strong following in men’s basketball.
“We’re not looking at any one factor”, Boren said. On the other side, Texas wanted to stay at 10 and keep its own Longhorn Network in place. Even though Boren, also Okalhoma’s president, renounced the idea of a conference television network just over a month ago, he and the Big 12 leadership have suddenly changed their mind.
TB: Expansion seems likely for one simple reason: having a CCG without divisions is stupid and everyone knows it. Beyond that, there’s no good solution for dividing up the current conference, and you’re guaranteed a rematch. Even Boren was backing off. If the conference can get new members to take less than an equal share in order to join, the money works out and they can negotiatie a bigger raise in the next network deal conversation.
UConn would seemingly be a lock if the conference expands by four instead of two.
“Obviously, the announcement that something has been agreed to with the ACC, we don’t know all the details at this point”, Boren said.
Adding new members doesn’t mean they come in as equal partners. Financial advantages. Competitive advantage. “We look forward to hearing back from him as he evaluates those interests from all those who have contacted us”.
It’s easy to understand schools have not been shy about courting the Big 12. “That bring stability. That have a high top end”.
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The Big 12 resisted expansion, then the rules changed so conferences needed only 10 teams (not 12) to play a championship game. 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.
