As another college basketball season dawns, we once again have to get used to a bunch of schools in new conferences. The biggest change this season is Wichita State's move from the Missouri Valley to the American, with Valparaiso replacing them in the Missouri Valley. The Big 12, meanwhile, continues to hold strong at 10, even though that represents the smallest membership of any Power 5 conference.
I don't think there's a person out there who doesn't think the Big 12's name will be accurate again some point soon. They proclaim to be happy with 10, but have also been actively engaged in expansion talks with a number of schools. Big 12 expansion is going to happen. Probably sooner rather than later. And there's one school that would be a perfect fit on a number of levels.
Let's bring this back to football for a minute, since we all know football (specifically football money) is what drives everything in major college athletics. Until this year, the NCAA rule was that you had to have 12 teams in order to have a football championship game. That meant the Big 12 was the only Power 5 conference without enough teams to have one. They were OK with that until the College Football Playoff started...with the Big 12 teams sitting at home and watching as the champions of the other four major conferences got a chance to pad their resumes.
Make no mistake, this rule change was designed solely to help the Big 12. Because as soon as the rule change was announced, the Big 12 announced that they were once again going to hold a football championship game starting this season. The last time they had a championship game, they had 12 members and two divisions. Don't be surprised when that happens again.
If the Big 12 does expand, the Texas schools all want Houston to join. That makes total sense. Houston is within the Big 12 footprint and had longstanding rivalries with many Big 12 schools back when they were all in the Southwest Conference. Plus, Houston is the fourth-largest city in America, and the Big 12 has been absent in the Houston market since Texas A&M bolted for the SEC.
But Houston's not the school I'm talking about. I'm talking about the school that would be Houston's expansion partner. BYU. BYU checks off all the boxes. It would be stupid for the Big 12 not to see that. And it would be stupid for BYU not to see that.
BYU is the biggest college football fish out there not already in a Power 5 conference. Their fan base is huge, and they have a national following. They left the Mountain West to become a football independent for a number of reasons, one of which was scheduling freedom. But I've checked out BYU's football schedules over the past couple of seasons. And it's not like they play Notre Dame's schedule. They wouldn't exactly be hurt by swapping out San Jose State and UMass for Texas and Oklahoma. They'd also gain access to the Big 12's bowl games, another plus.
A move to the Big 12 would help all of BYU's other sports, as well. When they moved out of the Mountain West, they joined the West Coast Conference in all other sports. And it's ridiculous how much BYU dominates in the WCC. Everyone knows the Big 12 is a stronger conference. BYU wouldn't dominate, but they wouldn't be in over their heads, either. And the recruiting boon would be felt across the board. BYU would still be good at all the sports they're already good at. And they'd probably become good in the ones they aren't. They'll be better just by being in the Big 12.
There's another incentive for BYU to join the Big 12. BYU TV. Every other major conference either already has its own TV network or has one in the works. The Big 12 doesn't. Because the conference doesn't have its own network, Texas is able to have the Longhorn Network. (That's one of the reasons they stayed in the Big 12.) Likewise, BYU would be able to enjoy the best of both worlds. They'll get to reap the benefits of their own network while also reaping the benefits of the Big 12 conference deal.
That conference deal should be the biggest reason why BYU would be an attractive candidate for the Big 12. When those conference rights are back up for negotiation, think of how much better the conference's position will be if they were to add both the Houston and Salt Lake City markets. They'd also be selling the prospects of Texas-BYU and BYU-Oklahoma football games, which you know would be incredibly appealing to any network. The resulting increased rights fees would make splitting the revenue 12 ways instead of 10 much easier for everyone to handle, as well (the Big 12 doesn't distribute money evenly anyway, Texas and Oklahoma get more).
To me, it seems like a no-brainer. BYU should be in the Big 12. It would be good for them. It would be good for the conference. It's really too obvious not to do it. This would be a smart move all the way around. Which is why it needs to happen sooner rather than later.
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