The Big 12 has revived its championship game and killed the idea of a television network. But that doesn't mean the other topic that has entrapped the entire college sports landscape into a years-long ice cream headache is over and done with, though.
According to a report from Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News, the topic of the Big 12 expanding back to its eponymous number still percolates under the surface. As Carlton writes, the conference's leadership never declared the topic dead like they did a television network, instead emphasizing the need to further study in advance of another Big 12 presidents' meeting later this summer.
And with a TV network dead, the prism by which the conference views potential targets could radically change. For instance: if you're no longer financially incentivized to collect as many monthly subscriber fees as possible, why in the world would you consider adding UConn? And why wouldn't Boise State, with its 18 consecutive winning seasons, two undefeated campaigns, and nine top-15 finishes in its last 14 attempts?
"Yes, TV markets are important. Yes, the financial aspect is important," Oklahoma president David Boren said at the Big 12's spring meetings. "But we certainly cannot afford to dilute our competitive reputation."
This news should lead presidents from BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and Memphis (alongside the already mentioned Boise State) to push their Big 12 colleagues to expand as soon as possible, while Central Florida, South Florida, Colorado State and others with similar ambition should caution for a more deliberate approach while they can -- hopefully -- collect a few more trophies.
While the ending of any TV network dreams removes any immediate need to expand, the Big 12 also has no reason not to expand, assuming the right subject present themselves. The league's contracts with ESPN and Fox are structured in a way that would allow the conference to expand while keeping the "original" 10 teams' payouts the same -- without needing to consult the networks ahead of time. The Big 12's existing members are due $23 million a year and rising through the middle of the next decade, whereas each American Athletic Conference team received $2 million for the same product. Dangling, say, $10 million in front of the schools holding the winning ticket would represent an extreme discount on the Big 12's end and a massive windfall for teams leaving the American.
There's also the issue that won't go away no matter how much times Big 12 presidents spend staring at their consultant-supplied spreadsheets: the fact that 10 is a smaller number than 12 and 14. Conferences are judged by relative strength at the top -- ask any South Carolina fan puffing his chest over all those titles his team didn't win -- but there exists this worm of an idea that the Big 12 is "psychologically disadvantaged" at 10 teams. Who gave birth to that phrase?
Oh, yeah. It was David Boren.