Are Colorado State and BYU interested in joining the Big 12?
The Big 12 Conference has been a hot topic of conversation the last few years, mostly because they’ve not been a full 12-team conference since Texas A&M, Missouri, and Nebraska bailed in recent years. Now talks of an expansion have resurfaced, and it seems that two universities have climbed into discussion.
As it stands, there are currently 10 teams in the conference. Back in May, Matt Stephens wrote in the Coloradoan that Colorado State was among several teams in the hunt for application into the conference.
"Two of the biggest selling points for SCU in the realignment landscape was its academic performance — placing higher than Big 12 members Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Texas Tech, and West Virginia on US News and World Report’s rankings of the top 204 universities in the country — and the Denver TV market. Denver is ranked by Nielsen as the 17th largest market in the US."
Also in the running for the Big 12 is BYU. Brigham Young University has a prominent TV network, and a large fan base, but in order for them to be seriously considered, they’ll need a strong season on the football field to impress the higher-ups within the Big 12. Brad Rock of the Deseret News notes that while they have incredible facilities and trophies to brag about, they need to prove their team can hang with the likes of Oklahoma State, TCU, and Baylor.
"As old fashioned as it sounds, dominating on the field is still a great way to impress."
In addition to BYU and Colorado State, several teams are still in the conversation. During this week’s Big 12 media days in Dallas, we learned that the conference is not only actively looking for teams to join, but it could add as many as four teams. Houston, UConn, and Cincinnati are among the list of teams that could potentially join. A report from The Kansas City Star has more details on rumored teams to be involved.
For more college football news, be sure to visit our hub page.