Will the Big 12 be expanding?

[Tums Festival]

With the Big 12 shut out of the football playoff because it declared conference co-champions, could they end up expanding to get to twelve teams so they can hold a championship game? If so, would they take Cincinnati and UConn?

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/11993892/big-12-commissioner-bob-bowlsby-says-conference-reconsider-how-declare-champion

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

No and no.

[GGGG]

Word is Memphis and Cincy.

So basically the B12 would have traded Nebraska, Colorado, Missouri and Texas A&M for Cincy, Memphis, West Virginia and TCU.  All because they wanted to appease Texas and differential television rights payouts.

Those were not very smart decisions.

[GGGG]

No and no.

Bowlsby said today that they are going to look at expansion.  That doesn't mean they definitely will pull the trigger.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Bowlsby said today that they are going to look at expansion.  That doesn't mean they definitely will pull the trigger.

Should of clarified. I said no to Cincy and UCONN not expansion. I guess I can see Cincy though, not too far geographically and have a decent football program. UConn really needs to ditch football and fast.

[GGGG]

I would look at UCF and USF, but geography is already a problem with this conference.

[Tums Festival]

Should of clarified. I said no to Cincy and UCONN not expansion. I guess I can see Cincy though, not too far geographically and have a decent football program. UConn really needs to ditch football and fast.

If they want to build a bridge to West Virginia, then Cincinnati makes some sense. And I read somewhere that UConn loses more on football then UAB. If they do expand whomever they add won't be nearly as much as what they lost.

[forgetful]

I was thinking about this earlier.  There are 4 teams I could see them targeting.

UCONN
Memphis
Cincinnati
SMU

Those four are going to be battling for an invite.  I have a feeling that UCONN will be left out and they will be losing two of the only solid BBall teams from their conference.  That would leave the AAC as a horrible basketball conference.

If UCONN can't get the invite, do they drop football?

[ThatDude]

Memphis is a lock.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

I was thinking about this earlier.  There are 4 teams I could see them targeting.

UCONN
Memphis
Cincinnati
SMU

Those four are going to be battling for an invite.  I have a feeling that UCONN will be left out and they will be losing two of the only solid BBall teams from their conference.  That would leave the AAC as a horrible basketball conference.

If UCONN can't get the invite, do they drop football?

For our sake I hope so.

[Pakuni]

I would think, if anything, they would go after Mountain West schools with good football programs, i.e. Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State.
Nobody cares about Memphis or UConn (or Cincy) football, and this is only about football.

[D'Lo Brown]

I was thinking about this earlier.  There are 4 teams I could see them targeting.

UCONN
Memphis
Cincinnati
SMU

Those four are going to be battling for an invite.  I have a feeling that UCONN will be left out and they will be losing two of the only solid BBall teams from their conference.  That would leave the AAC as a horrible basketball conference.

If UCONN can't get the invite, do they drop football?

I really doubt that Uconn will drop football. Rentschler Field was a huge expense, something like $90 million and it isn't that old.

It also doesn't make much sense for them to move back to the FCS either... Uconn football isn't at all the same as it was before they moved to Division I. They sucked this year, but they were in the Fiesta Bowl just a few years ago. The problem right now is that they have had a string of awful coaching hires. The program shouldn't stay down forever.

[GGGG]

I would think, if anything, they would go after Mountain West schools with good football programs, i.e. Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State.
Nobody cares about Memphis or UConn (or Cincy) football, and this is only about football.

That's a good point.  Except I think that they do want someone closer to West Virginia.  Maybe Colorado State and Cincy?

[forgetful]

I would think, if anything, they would go after Mountain West schools with good football programs, i.e. Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State.
Nobody cares about Memphis or UConn (or Cincy) football, and this is only about football.

Colorado State would be a possibility.  Boise and Fresno are way to far away.  Big enough problems with West Virginia, they will stay close to their historic roots.

[chapman]

I have a feeling that UCONN will be left out and they will be losing two of the only solid BBall teams from their conference.  That would leave the AAC as a horrible basketball conference.

Imagine...and if Cincinnati and Memphis would go, with the rest of the conference in Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, UConn and Temple have to feel grossly out of place.  UConn would have to wonder what the hell it's doing if they would be left campaigning to add UMass and Marshall to the AAC to keep Temple from returning to the MAC and A-10.  May the dominoes fall.

[Pakuni]

Colorado State would be a possibility.  Boise and Fresno are way to far away.  Big enough problems with West Virginia, they will stay close to their historic roots.

Maybe, but the same issues would exist - and in some instances be worse - with UConn or Cincy or UCF/USF.
Fact is, there aren't a lot of quality football programs in the plains states outside the Big 12 that would be desirable to the Big 12.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Well I'm happy the Big East had stability and I think that was the main reason for making the conference in the first place. Don't have to worry about poaching anymore.

[Tugg Speedman]

Right now the Big 12 has 10 teams (go figure!).  So each team shares 10% of the conference take.  Expand to 12 and they share 8.33%.

Rounding means each school gets 17% because they dilute themselves.  Then ask how much revenue Uconn, Cincy or Memphis add back?  Answer, probably not enough to offset the dilution.

So expand and get less money.  Not a good deal.

The answer is not conference expansion.  It is stop playing a laughable non-conference schedule.

This year

TCU
Samford
Minnesota
@SMU (finished 1-11)

Baylor
SMU (finished 1-11)
Northwestern St (1-AA)
Buffalo

Also the conference should use their brain and guess who are their best teams and schedule them last.  If Baylor and TCU played each this past weekend, the winner might have made it through.  Instead TCU was stuck playing a 2-10 Iowa State on the most important weekend of the year.  TCU beat them 55 to 3 and dropped from 3rd to 6th in the rankings!!

[Groin_pull]

The NCAA is powerless. They're toothless. What stops the Big 12 from staying at its current size and simply having a championship game with 10 schools? The NCAA now answers to the Power Five.

Hate to see the Big 10 weasel its way into the playoff. But it's not a shock. Crappy conference, but its fans travel. And as we know, this is all about making money.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

I really doubt that Uconn will drop football. Rentschler Field was a huge expense, something like $90 million and it isn't that old.

It also doesn't make much sense for them to move back to the FCS either... Uconn football isn't at all the same as it was before they moved to Division I. They sucked this year, but they were in the Fiesta Bowl just a few years ago. The problem right now is that they have had a string of awful coaching hires. The program shouldn't stay down forever.

I agree to this.  $91.2mil to build and opened in 2003

[GGGG]

The NCAA is powerless. They're toothless. What stops the Big 12 from staying at its current size and simply having a championship game with 10 schools? The NCAA now answers to the Power Five.

Hate to see the Big 10 weasel its way into the playoff. But it's not a shock. Crappy conference, but its fans travel. And as we know, this is all about making money.

It didn't weasel its way into a playoff.  Baylor, TCU and OSU each finished with the same record and OSU had the strongest schedule of the three.  Completely defensible. 

[Coleman]

The NCAA is powerless. They're toothless. What stops the Big 12 from staying at its current size and simply having a championship game with 10 schools? The NCAA now answers to the Power Five.

I do agree with this part of your post.

Why not have two 5-team divisions and a championship? What could the NCAA do about it? Makes sense to me.

[GGGG]

I do agree with this part of your post.

Why not have two 5-team divisions and a championship? What could the NCAA do about it? Makes sense to me.

Well you can't simply ignore NCAA rules.  That's like saying "well I'm going to pay our players...what is the NCAA going to do?"

The B12 petitioned the NCAA to change the championship game rule.  They didn't.

[GooooMarquette]

I would look at UCF and USF, but geography is already a problem with this conference.

A few years ago, I would have agreed.

But with the Big Twelethirfourteen going east to pick up Rutgers (Rutgers?!?!?), the ACC extending as far north and away from the "Atlantic coast" as Syracuse and Louisville, and the Big East now west of the Mississippi with Creighton, anything is possible.  In fact, distant geography seems to be something of an advantage these days, as it allows the conference to claim it has captured a new geographic market and thus new eyes on the TV.  Stinks as far as rivalries and team/fan travel, but the networks don't seem to care....

[Coleman]

Colorado State would make a lot of sense.

And then probably either Memphis or Cincy. Cincy at least gets you in the neighborhood of Morgantown, although Memphis is closer to the core of the conference in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.