Is this confirmation that Cincinnati is headed to the Big 12?
By Josh Hill
Someone might have spoiled the surprise that Cincinnati is going to be joining the Big 12 when the conference expands on Monday.
One of the worst kept secrets in college football is that the Big 12 is going to expand. It’s been something the conference has needed to do for years, and it’s not surprising that a conference that reused to add a title game is only now getting around to doing what’s best for their brand.
But trolling aside, the Big 12 is finally expanding and that means looking at teams they’ll want to add. Cincinnati is a team that many believe will be added, and things seem to be shaping up that way thanks to some photos leaking that Big 12 officials might not be too happy about.
On Monday, someone tweeted out what appeared to be press conference background paper that was branded with the Cincinnati logo and the Big 12 logo. It doesn’t take a genius to realize what this means, if it is indeed a legit image.
That’s not by any means an official announcement or even an authorized photo. The original tweet, sent by this ‘Legalize Will’ character, was taken down and deleted. But once you post something on the internet it lives there forever, and that’s the case here.
By deleting the photo — either himself or at the request of the Big 12 — it does worse damage than the photo in of itself. It confirms, pretty much, that Cincinnati will indeed be added to the Big 12 on Monday night.
It’s not like this is some massive surprise though. The Bearcats have long been rumored to be added to the conference. So there remains an element of suspense as far as wondering who — if anyone else — will following Cincinnati to the Big 12.