With the Big 12 deciding on Tuesday that it will look to expand to 12-14 teams, BYU Cougars athletic director Tom Holmoe wants his school to get an invite.
On Tuesday, the Big 12 decided it was time for the Power 5 conference to expand from its 10 member institutions. Though all 10 members play each other annually in their nine-game college football season, there is a stigma associated with the Big 12 for not having had a conference championship the first two years of the College Football Playoff.
This ultimately cost the Big 12 an invite for the 2014 College Football Playoff and if the 2015 Oklahoma Sooners weren’t incredible, the Big 12 might have gone 0-2 in Playoff berths. With the Big 12 probably opening its doors to expanding to 12 or even 14 teams, BYU athletic director of Tom Holmoe was the first to throw his school’s hat into the ring at a Big 12 bid.
BYU has to be one of the better candidates for Big 12 expansion, as the LDS institution in Provo, Utah will give the Big 12 a boost in academics, media market, and football prowess. Expanding into the Rocky Mountains would be a wise move for the Big 12 since it lost the Colorado Buffaloes to the Pac-12 in 2012.
The Cougars are 548-396-26 all-time, with a Heisman Trophy winner in quarterback Ty Detmer and the 1984 National Championship to boot. BYU should easily make the two-to-four team cut for Big 12 expansion. Their biggest obstacle might be the school’s strict policy on not playing on Sundays for any reason, as a part of the university’s roots in Mormonism.
Since college football is a Saturday sport, there really isn’t any reason for the Big 12 to not bring independent BYU into the fold. The Big 12 can accommodate them when it comes to other sports, but football is kind and they should be more than willing to acquiesce their policy. Adding the Cougars is a no-brainer on all three fronts: academics, regional media market, and gridiron success.
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