As the Big 12 eyes expansion, these four schools have emerged as top candidates
With the Big 12 eyeing expansion, four schools have emerged as favorites to join the league.
BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and Central Florida are the four schools that have been discussed “over and over,” according to a league source. The Athletic first reported the four schools as the league’s top candidates earlier Thursday.
This not a done deal by any stretch but those four schools would add the most value to a league reeling with the pending departures of Texas and Oklahoma.
TCU football coach Gary Patterson addressed realignment and expansion during his radio show Thursday night, telling host Brian Estridge that fans should look at it from a positive standpoint.
“I think we’re going to end up staying together, I think we’re going to end up adding teams, and I think we’re going to end up getting stronger,” Patterson said on 92.1 Hank FM. “We control what we can control.”
Patterson mentioned that TCU isn’t a school that can complain about UT and OU leaving the Big 12 as TCU has jumped leagues multiple times in the past two decades. Additionally, Patterson said, TCU’s path to the College Football Playoff and a possible national championship may be better in a refortified Big 12 without those two schools.
That new-look Big 12 would include BYU, which appears to be the top choice in expansion talks. BYU, which is an independent in football, has a strong fan base and history.
As one source put it, “BYU adds immediate value.”
Cincinnati and Houston are strong candidates, too, given the alumni bases and history at both schools. The same can be said for Central Florida.
“Those four are where you start,” a source said.
It’s unclear when invitations would be handed out, although a source it’s possible it happens at some point in this academic year.
BYU would have the easiest path given its independent status in football. Cincy, UH and UCF are members of the American Athletic Conference and would have to give that league 27 months notice and pay a $10 million exit fee before joining the Big 12.
Of course, these are all subject to negotiations between leagues and schools.
But the Big 12 is starting to play offense.
Those four additions would get the Big 12 back to 12 teams in the post-UT/OU era. They would also keep the Big 12 as one of the top five football leagues in the country, arguably better than the Pac-12 some years. The new schools would also strengthen the league from a basketball perspective.
If the league wants to explore beyond that, there would be plenty of interested schools such as Colorado State, San Diego State, South Florida, Boise State, SMU and Navy.
This story was originally published September 2, 2021 at 7:51 PM.
