dgcrow
- Kelso, WA
It could be good for the Big 12 to survive. Might bring a little stability among all the changes.
Big Ten, ACC, Pac-12 Alliance
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If I were the Big 12, I would be very hesitant to pick up a geographic outlier with so little football history that’s at best the 4th most popular program in the state, even if that state is Florida.
Getting UCF, hoping it maintains its little run (they had an 0-12 season as recently as 2015), and hoping for a foothold in Florida doesn’t seem like a bid for stability for a conference that desperately needs it.
I’d be looking for tried and true, established, maybe even boring - something like BYU, Houston, Memphis and Cincinnati.
dgcrow
- Kelso, WA
Possibly Boise State as well. For quite a while the Broncos have shown ambitions beyond the Mountain West Conference.
While the Big 12 can't be picky, I think they should be ringing up UCF, Boise State, TCU and Houston.
With Kansas and WVU feeling a bit jumpy, I'd also approach Cincinnati, Memphis and see if Illinois State would like to make a jump up to D1.
I'd also ring up TAMU to see if they are happy to see UT in their same conference.
With Kansas and WVU feeling a bit jumpy, I'd also approach Cincinnati, Memphis and see if Illinois State would like to make a jump up to D1.
I'd also ring up TAMU to see if they are happy to see UT in their same conference.
The Galloping Ghost
- Washington, DC
dgcrow
- Kelso, WA
Perhaps SMU?
Sorry. Got my alphabet soup mixed up.
Yes, see if the Methodists want to join.
ISU to the Big 12? Take a bite out of that network TV apple.
The Galloping Ghost
- Washington, DC
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Big XII South: Baylor, Houston, TCU, SMU, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State
Big XII North: Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Cincinnati, Memphis, West Virginia
Geographically and culturally coherent. All actual schools with actual traditions and real fanbases. And a chance to in a good year be the best basketball conference in the country.
A much smarter direction than flailing randomly across the country for the likes of UCF and Boise State with buckets of flopsweat proclaiming "we're still good at football we swear!"
They're just the AAC if they go down that road.
Big XII North: Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Cincinnati, Memphis, West Virginia
Geographically and culturally coherent. All actual schools with actual traditions and real fanbases. And a chance to in a good year be the best basketball conference in the country.
A much smarter direction than flailing randomly across the country for the likes of UCF and Boise State with buckets of flopsweat proclaiming "we're still good at football we swear!"
They're just the AAC if they go down that road.
UCF has an absolutely massive enrollment/alumni base and are in a big market with solid football attendance (better than ours lately). They check all the boxes the big 12 would want.
Oh my. LSU I’d expect, but is USC trying to make the Alliance look bad? Seems like they could have at least delayed the announcement. LSU is scheduled to also play UCLA the same season.
The Galloping Ghost
- Washington, DC
"The Athletic, citing an unnamed source, reported Wednesday that at least 15 schools, most from the American Athletic Conference and the Mountain West, have contacted the Big 12 to express interest in joining."
There's a lot going on in that article. Texas is a wild place.
Texas Tech AD Kirby Hocutt says Big 12 expansion plans are under way
Texas Tech athletics director Kirby Hocutt is a member of four-person subcommittee tasked with leading Big 12 efforts to add new members.
www.lubbockonline.com
There's a lot going on in that article. Texas is a wild place.
DeonThomas
- South Carolina
Yes please.
They'll still be a real conference and they'll actually have "12" teams. Guarantee them 1 slot annually in the 12-team football championship. Hopefully they then form an alliance with the SEC for scheduling purposes.....and all is good once again with the Power 5.
The Galloping Ghost
- Washington, DC
Mapping out Big 12 expansion strategies.
frankthetank.org
Where in the World is Carmen San Diego State? Mapping Out Big 12 Expansion Strategies
Last week, the Pac-12 announced that it was not seeking any expansion at this time in the wake of its announced Big Paclantic Alliance with the Big Ten and ACC. While some fans of schools remaining…
frankthetank.org
"The Athletic, citing an unnamed source, reported Wednesday that at least 15 schools, most from the American Athletic Conference and the Mountain West, have contacted the Big 12 to express interest in joining."
Texas Tech AD Kirby Hocutt says Big 12 expansion plans are under way
Texas Tech athletics director Kirby Hocutt is a member of four-person subcommittee tasked with leading Big 12 efforts to add new members.www.lubbockonline.com
There's a lot going on in that article. Texas is a wild place.
I would expect them to find expansion schools. They lost 2 HUGE programs that generate big $. The conference won't be remotely as strong without those two, but they should be able to pick and choose from a number of lesser programs to try and up their numbers. With the current landscape, I wouldn't want to be down 2 members --there's safety in numbers, especially if the schools are a good fit and will stick together when bargaining. I think that's the problem with a school like TX or OK --the difference between them and the rest of the membership made the SEC leap too good to pass up.
Big 12 zeroes in on BYU, Cincinnati, UCF and Houston.
www.cbssports.com
Big 12 expansion: League to meet about offering BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF membership
Texas and Oklahoma departing left a huge hole in the Big 12 conference
www.cbssports.com
The Galloping Ghost
- Washington, DC
Those have always been the teams that made the most sense to me. UCF feels like a juggernaut waiting to happen once it gets into a conference that's at last viewed as somewhat legit.Big 12 zeroes in on BYU, Cincinnati, UCF and Houston.
Big 12 expansion: League to meet about offering BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF membership
Texas and Oklahoma departing left a huge hole in the Big 12 conference
Maybe.
The Big East, CUSA and AAC have all chased a toehold in Florida through UCF and/or USF for decades and it never elevated any of those conferences.
Tenuated geographic and culture fits from stretching to get back into Florida is what eventually doomed Big East football. Far flung conferences like CUSA with schools that don’t have much to do with one another has not be a ticket to going to the next level.
I think the Big 12 probably will take UCF. And I think it will doom them to being an unstable second tier conference where every school is constantly looking to find a better situation.
the B12's issue with P5 legitimacy will have NOTHING to do with UCF being the 12th team of 12 in that league.
when you lose Texas and Oklahoma, it will take A LOT to replace them. Adding these 4 schools helps, but doesnt come close to doing that in football. They were the 5th of 5 P% conferences and still will be after this.
from a basketball perspective, they will be better than the SEC and Pac12
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Bless you, someone else who gets it.
Eh, it's a close call with a pile of garbage like UCF instead of Memphis who are always good and under Penny Hardaway appear poised to perhaps become one of the best programs in the country.
Crystal clear there is absolutely no consideration in any of these moves whatsoever other than selling football games to TV in the absolute most present tense.
The desperation is palpable, and not just on the Big 12's part.
right
ok, until a year or two from now when Penny bolts to the NBA and Memphis is back to being 64th best program in the land.
their resurgence is not sustainable after he leaves.............................and he leaves
In the category of things that make too much sense to ever happen, assuming that the Big 12 does take Cincy, Houston and UCF from the AAC, instead of yet again going into the cascade of AAC stealing from CUSA, CUSA stealing from the Sun Belt and the Sun Belt scrounging for what’s left… those three conferences could get together and reorganize into something that makes a lot more sense.
Three proposed conferences made up of the remaining AAC schools, CUSA, Sun Belt and independents:
The New Big East:
North division - UMass, UConn, Army, Temple, Navy, Marshall
South division - Old Dominion, Liberty, E Carolina, Charlotte, App St, Coastal Carolina
The New SWC:
West division - SMU, N Texas, Rice, UTSA, UTEP, Texas St, NM St.
East division - Tulsa, Ark St, Tulane, LA Tech, ULA, LA-Monroe
The New Sun Belt:
South division - USF, FIU, FAU, GA Southern, S Alabama, Troy
North division - S Miss, GA St, UAB, W Kentucky, Memphis, MTSU
Three proposed conferences made up of the remaining AAC schools, CUSA, Sun Belt and independents:
The New Big East:
North division - UMass, UConn, Army, Temple, Navy, Marshall
South division - Old Dominion, Liberty, E Carolina, Charlotte, App St, Coastal Carolina
The New SWC:
West division - SMU, N Texas, Rice, UTSA, UTEP, Texas St, NM St.
East division - Tulsa, Ark St, Tulane, LA Tech, ULA, LA-Monroe
The New Sun Belt:
South division - USF, FIU, FAU, GA Southern, S Alabama, Troy
North division - S Miss, GA St, UAB, W Kentucky, Memphis, MTSU
The Galloping Ghost
- Washington, DC
Yup. Penny isn't staying and Memphis's time on top will be extremely short-lived. It's basically the Coach Cal situation all over again. Frankly, the biggest thing in Memphis's favor is that they have the heft of FedEx funding them.
UCF doesn't legitimize a conference. The conferences that UCF has been in have all been massively flawed and UCF was never going to rectify their problems. I'm not even arguing that UCF joining the Big 12 will necessarily help the Big 12. Basically, the only thing that's gonna save the Big 12 is if they can grab an automatic qualifier into the playoffs and if all the other conferences decide against any further expansion (which, as of now, seems to be the case).
My argument, that UCF is a juggernaut waiting to happen, is based on the fact that it's a school with massive enrollment and massive alumni base in a major city in one of the most fertile recruiting states in the country. If the Big 12 gets its automatic qualifier spot, it gives UCF legitimacy, which will give it access to even more top-tier recruits in its own state. Plus, now they have a way into Texas recruiting, also.
I get it. A lot of people on this board are really into history and UCF's is extremely minimal. But the thing is, while most of us weren't paying attention, UCF was becoming one of the biggest schools in the country. If given legitimacy, a few more solid seasons in a P5 conference can quickly compound into the next big thing in college football.
I do think the AAC without UCF, Houston and Cincinnati will still be the top G5 conference but the days of C-USA stealing from the Sunbelt is over imo.
If I'm the AAC I would get away from the current model of taking any school in a big market and hoping tv money follows and add the 2 schools with the most upside long term (Georgia St & Liberty)
Georgia St- massive state school in talent rich Atlanta with big aspirations.
Liberty- massive school (mostly online) with more money than they know what to do with. Big aspirations and a bright future.
With those two teams in the AAC. If I'm the Sunbelt I would take UAB, Marshall (both unhappy in Cusa due to it being so spread out) and force Texas st and ULM out. That would leave the Sunbelt as a decent G5 that's more compact geographically.
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