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Future Big 12: The contenders, wild cards and … UCLA?
- Updated: July 21, 2016
12:00 PM ET
On Tuesday, the Big 12 authorized commissioner Bob Bowlsby to start exploring expansion candidates.
Bowlsby and Oklahoma president and Big 12 board chair David Boren said the factors that the league would consider would include strength of football program, fan base, media market, reputation and academic standing.
Through that prism, here’s how potential expansion candidates stack up:
The favorites
Editor’s PicksBig 12 coaches sound off on expansion plans
From improving the conference’s playoff chances to strengthening its fan appeal, Big 12 football coaches weighed in on the possibility of expansion.
Could FedEx deliver Memphis to the Big 12?
FedEx has dangled sponsorship and other revenue to help land Memphis in the Big 12. But the shipping giant’s money, and that of other big businesses, might not be enough.
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BYU: With the strongest football program of any “available” non-Power 5 program, the Cougars have been at the top of the list from the very beginning. Along with Houston, BYU topped an ESPN poll of the league’s football coaches, presumably for that very reason. BYU has defeated Big 12 flagships Texas and Oklahoma in the last seven years, and dating back to 1980, only Nebraska, Florida State, Ohio State, Miami, Florida and the Sooners have won more games than BYU. Through the Mormon Church, the Cougars have a national following, with an average home attendance (58,000) that would’ve ranked fourth in the Big 12 last year. Though the campus is roughly 2,000 miles away from Big 12 member West Virginia, BYU would give the conference a presence in the Mountain Time Zone, creating interesting TV opportunities for the league, while, perhaps, bolstering the Big 12’s revenue distribution potential down the line. BYU not playing on Sundays would create issues in Olympic sports scheduling, notably baseball, softball and women’s soccer; that obstacle and its proximity to the rest of the league is why a football-only option could be on the table with the Cougars. That, however, is not preferable for the Big 12.
Cincinnati: For the reason BYU’s geography’s might work against it, Cincinnati’s location is one of the school’s biggest assets in Big 12 expansion. Whether the Big 12 chose to expand by two or four, UC could be logically paired with virtually any expansion candidate. West Virginia’s leadership has been a proponent of Big 12 expansion, provided that through expansion the Mountaineers wind up with a travel partner, like UC, that makes sense. UC president Santa Ono has been working furiously behind the scenes to get the school into the Big 12, though he’ll be …
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