Big 12 Expansion Candidates- Post

• http://www.athlonsports.com/college-football/big-12-expansion-candidates
• Steve Lassen and Mitch Light
• Athlon Sports
• August 31 2011

This article talks of the potential teams that may be joining the Big 12 in the 2012 season. Due to the departure of Nebraska and Colorado, and the soon departure of Texas A & M, the Big 12 is in desperate need of at least one replacement. Being left with only nine teams in the conference will be devastating for the conference, not only for revenue, but for competition as well.

Some of the names mentioned as being potential candidates for being added are as follows: Air Force, BYU, Houston, and SMU. With Air Force, they are a big name for the simple fact that they are part of the armed forces, but they probably would not bring much to the competitive side for the Big 12 despite winning at least eight games the past four seasons. BYU is a solid program that has been floating around the top 25 for the bulk of their most recent seasons, so they seem like the best fit for the Big 12.

Adding Houston would strengthen the conference’s hold in Texas despite losing the Aggies. But at the same time, they do not have the facilities or the fan base to be on par with the teams of the Big 12. Not to mention their mediocre talent level. SMU would be an interesting addition, they would also strengthen the hold in Texas, and they would make for a feel good story. This would be their biggest step towards full recovery since the death penalty that knocked SMU almost totally off the map. However they do not have much of a fan base and would bring the Big 12 little more than a heart warming story.

Other teams that were rumored but not necessarily likely to join: Arkansas, Boise State, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, San Diego State and TCU. Arkansas would be good payback to the SEC who are taking Texas A & M. Boise State may, but it would not make sense from a regional stand point. Louisville is going to stick to the Big East for basketball’s sake. Notre Dame is fiercely independent. Pittsburgh would most likely join the Big Ten before considering the Big 12. San Diego State would not really be an upgrade for the football competitiveness and they do not have much fan support. And finally, TCU make a lot of sense from the competitive standpoint, but would not do much for the conference geographically.

This article mostly affects the Big 12 more than anybody else, besides the schools they are getting in touch with. All of the possible schools are in small non-competitive conferences, so it would not make much of a difference to them from a national standpoint. It would do nothing but benefit the Big 12 if they are able to fill the voids that have been left by the schools that abandoned them before the start of the 2012 season.