Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
After the GoR, the old Big XII South teams are headed either to the PAC in a pod format or the SEC West in some configuration. The Big XII's only option is to try and go to 14 with BYU/UNLV in the West and Cincy/Connecticut in the East to give WV some regional partners.
Yes, the Big XII Brass is going to have to lower standards to get this thing done. There's just no other options at this point....the Big XII leadership got outmaneuvered and was reactive rather than proactive pretty much at every point the last three years. I don't know anyone in the Big XII that is happy with the Big XII leadership with the exception of the interim stay of Chuck Neinas = I want him back!
The conference divisional alignment would look as follows:
Big XII East
Cincy
Connecticut
Iowa State
Kansas
Kansas State
Oklahoma State
West Virginia
Big XII West
Baylor
BYU
Oklahoma
Texas Christian U.
Tejas
Texas Tech
UNLV
That’s not too shabby of a conference....well, it's kinda shabby but it would have to suffice. You’ve got decent markets/TV sets and a decent balance of super-powers (Oklahoma/Tejas), mid-level elites (Okie State, WV, TCU, K-State, BYU), mid-level solid (Cincy, UCONN, Tech, Baylor, Iowa State), and a few cupcakes (Kansas, UNLV).
Also, to go to 16, the Big XII could look at getting the Florida market with USF/UCF in a package deal. It is a major downgrade, but at this point, the Big XII is going to have to make some moves in the next couple of years or OU/Texas will be looking West again, or OU/Okie State possibly to the SEC (not the B1G = doesn’t have the academics and likely never will).
If the Big XII goes to 16 with the teams listed above the divisional alignments would be as follows:
Big XII East
Cincy
Connecticut
UCF
USF
Iowa State
Kansas
Kansas State
West Virginia
Big XII West
Baylor
BYU
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Texas Christian U.
Tejas
Texas Tech
UNLV
If I were the Big 12 and wanted to expand here is who I would add and how I would do the division format.
Big 12 North
Kansas
K-State
OU
OK State
Tulsa
West Virginia
Big 12 South
Baylor
Houston
Texas
Texas Tech
TCU
SMU
If I were the Big 12 and wanted to expand here is who I would add and how I would do the division format.
Big 12 North
Kansas
K-State
OU
OK State
Tulsa
West Virginia
Big 12 South
Baylor
Houston
Texas
Texas Tech
TCU
SMU
What happened to Iowa State?
Yeh, I've listed something similar to your configuration like that before (SCC = South-Central Conference with Oklahoma/Texas teams only, and maybe Arkie) but it will never happen in the current landscape.
If the Big XII wanted Tulsa/SMU they'd already be in the conference. These teams are just too small and bring no new markets. Houston is viable possibly in the future. They'll have to expand their stadium big-time and quit being such an NFL/MLB/NBA focused city.
In Oklahoma, for example, even with the Thunder's success, the Sooner State will always be most focused/oriented on OU Football. That's not the case in a city like Houston. It would have to change for them to get the nod.
The Big XII went hard after Arkansas when Nebraska/Colorado left. The R-Backs weren't having it.
IMO, Arkansas has a lot more in common not only regionally, but also culturally with the Oklahoma/Texas schools and should be with its ol' partners from the Southwest Conference.
But, true to form, the Longhorns ran them off (just like A&M) and they'll probably never return to their rightful place in the South-Central region.
If the Big XII could somehow give the R-Backs a sweetheart deal.....like OU/Tejas get, then they might listen, but most likely there is nothing that the Big XII can do to win the Razorbacks from the SEC. The Razorbacks would rather be a middle-of-the-pack team in the SEC rather than arguably the third-fourth best team (along with Okie State) in the Big XII.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.