The Big 12 voted Monday to hold off on expanding its conference from the 10 universities it now houses.
However, the talks are ongoing, and expansion is all but ensured in the near future if the Big 12 wants to stay competitive against the other Power 5 conferences.
Because talking expansion is more fun than keeping the status quo, The Daily Iowan took a crack at what schools should join the Big 12.
Houston and BYU
The Big 12 needs to expand, there’s no doubting that. Right now the conference has 10 teams, which just isn’t big enough if you want to create serious revenue.
An expansion would also strengthen the conference. Two decent teams could help bolster the conference, in which the bottom two teams (Kansas and Iowa State) have won a combined 10 games since 2014.
Houston is an obvious choice to add into the Big 12. Logistically, the Cougars fit in perfectly — the Big 12 already has four Texas teams in the conference, and one more makes sense. Houston also ranks 11th in the AP Poll, something the conference should take into consideration. You don’t want to absorb a cellar-dweller.
Houston’s offensive-driven mindset would also be right at home in a conference highlighted by explosive offenses.
I don’t love the fit of any of the other teams in Big 12 addition talks, but I could see BYU joining.
Not only do BYU and Houston share the same mascot, the team’s play styles are similar, too. BYU is a quality 7-8 win football team each year as well.
With the Big 12 not containing a team west of Lubbock, Texas, BYU doesn’t seem like it would fit into the region. However, having a team in Provo, Utah, opens up more recruiting opportunities for the conference.
— Adam Hensley
Cincinnati and Colorado State
I’m going to be a realist here. Big 12 expansion is a little bit about putting a few more quality teams in the league, but mostly about revenue.
In that light, I think expansion ultimately boils down to what size of market each proposed team plays in, and if that market is already tapped into or not.
Cincinnati makes a lot of sense in that regard. It has a large market that would create a lot of revenue in a big metropolitan area, and the Big 12 hasn’t tapped into the Ohio market.
Therein lies the issue with Houston — the Big 12 already has four teams in Texas, so adding another wouldn’t add much revenue.
Colorado State is much the same as Cincinnati.
The school, located in Fort Collins, is only about an hour away from the huge Denver market, so the revenue would be there.
Colorado State also has an enrollment of over 32,000 students, so the thought that it is too small is a non-issue.
Houston and BYU both have better football programs than Cincinnati and Colorado State. But that won’t matter much.
Any team that eventually gets chosen to join will see a spike in recruiting simply because it will be joining a Power 5 conference.
It’s all about money, and Cincinnati and Colorado State can offer it.
— Blake Dowson