Here is a look at a third potential 20-team conference. Given what we know, this is what a 16 team Big 12 will look like after Texas & Oklahoma depart. Because of the pandemic, the Pac-12 said, only one of 35 football games scheduled for the conference-owned Pac-12 Networks was played, and the networks ended up with a 14 million operating. Oregon & Washington were notably absent from these conversations. "Four Pac 12 schools have reportedly met with the Big 12 regarding admission to the conference" While the Big 12 will soon be losing Texas and Oklahoma, the conference has reestablished itself as a Power Five league thanks to its on-field performance and by adding four schools that will join next summer: BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and Central Florida. While it’s no secret the conference could not match the other two super conferences in football, the Big 12 could secure its future by becoming the top basketball conference. The Big Ten might be adding more programs, with recent reports suggesting that Oregon and Washington could well be on their way to making major moves as part of the conference expansion puzzle. With no teams between West Virginia and UCF and nationalization of other conferences, there is a clear opportunity for the Big 12 to expand eastward. Arizona State and Colorado have a relatively strong history in football, while Arizona and Utah have had their fair share of success in the past.Īs currently constructed, the Big 12 footprint has a void on the East Coast. The conference is still hotly pursuing four teams out West in Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah. A source within the league said the Big 12 is most likely going to stick with its current nine-game conference schedule.The Big 12 is well on its way to becoming the next super conference in college football. Beginning in 2023, the Big 12 would have to go with its old format of division winners meeting for the conference title. The conference reinstated its championship game in 2017. After realignment, the league shrunk to 10 teams. In 2015, the NCAA allowed leagues with less than 12 teams to conduct championship games.įrom 1996 to 2010, the Big 12 played a football title game. Presently, the top two ranked teams play in the Big 12 Championship Game. The conference has operated as a 10-team league without divisions since 2017. NCAA rules state that any league with more than 12 teams must split into divisions for football according to Big 12 senior associate commissioner Ed Stewart. "Conference office, staff, ADs, sports administrators and coaches involved on a sport-by-sport basis, they're all doing the same thing." "We've got subcommittees in several sports that are talking about structure," Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby told CBS Sports. The Big 12 would then shrink to 12 teams in football, playing in six-team divisions beginning in 2025. If not, both schools would be subject to what have been projected as nine-figure early exit fees for breaking the Big 12 grant of rights that bind schools' TV inventory to the conference.Īssuming BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF join ahead of the 2023-24 athletic year, the league would be at 14 teams for two seasons in 20. The current Big 12 television contract with Fox and ESPN ends in 2025. The Big 12 is operating under the assumption that both the Longhorns and Sooners will stay in the league four more years. The Big 12 is engaged in plans to split into two seven-team divisions in football beginning in 2023 to temporarily restructure as a 14-team league as the realignment process unfolds, league sources tell CBS Sports.īig 12 athletic directors - including those from conference newcomers BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF - met last month in Las Vegas to begin deciding how the league will look for two seasons (2023-24) ahead of Texas and Oklahoma departing for the SEC.
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