Opinions: Expanding Big12 with UConn and Cincinnati...

[HeismanWatch]

What's your thoughts?

If the Big12 expands the league, would these teams add value to the basketball fans?

 

[jackson_supersooner]

Don't wanna expand period but if we had to (basketball wise) it would be best to have Cincinnati and Memphis

 

[Swans]

Basketball yes. Not sure about football though and that's what drives everything. UConn better than Memphis. I like the idea of Temple myself but doubt they'd be considered. I'm most in favor of the Big 12 disintegrating.

 

[wheelroute]

Not sold on Cincy for either football or hoops, but would agree to Memphis and I think Arkansas could be had.

 

[WTSooner]

Not sold on Cincy for either football or hoops, but would agree to Memphis and I think Arkansas could be had.

Arkansas isn't leaving the SEC for the Big 12. Not happening. And neither is Nebraska coming back.

Seems like a lot of the options for expansion has solid bball programs. Cincy. Memphis. Houston. UConn. Temple. The two Florida schools may not, but they certainly have the potential.

Not sure UConn is a good fit. I'd take Cincy and Memphis, and call it a day.

 

[AdaSooner]

Arkansas isn't leaving the SEC for the Big 12. Not happening. And neither is Nebraska coming back.

Seems like a lot of the options for expansion has solid bball programs. Cincy. Memphis. Houston. UConn. Temple. The two Florida schools may not, but they certainly have the potential.

Not sure UConn is a good fit. I'd take Cincy and Memphis, and call it a day.

I can't wrap my head around the idea that UCONN would be a good fit. Maybe that's because they're one of the schools on my "hope they get beat" list.

I agree that Cincy and Memphis would be good options. Their BB and FB programs are usually good most years, plus that would make WVU happy geographically. Houston and one of the those two wouldn't be a bad way to go either. Houston plays an exciting brand of football, and with Kelvin at the helm their BB team will only get better from here.

 

[thebigabd]

Central Florida and South Florida.

End of discussion.

 

[WTSooner]

My biggest gripe about UCONN is simply their location. Convenient for WVU, but an inconvienence for everybody else, and their travel would be brutal.

I would like Houston as an option if they weren't in Texas. I don't think the Big 12 can afford to dilute the Texas talent pool anymore than it already is.

 

[hoopsaustin]

The big 12 blew it. Were done. The idiots let the teams leave and we're sunk.. just join the big 10 and get that AAU academics crap they're always talking about in the big 10

 

[Bobby_Hill]

I think BYU is the 11th team in most expansion scenarios because of revenue. However the problem is who will the 12th team be, and will they bring more money per team to the conference based on their addition.

I hate it, but money is the reason most expansion ideas will fail.

 

[WTSooner]

BYU isn't a fit, for a number of reasons. I can't see them getting invited. If we expand, it's going east to help WVU be a better fit, not west and into a 3rd time zone.

 

[DenverSooner]

Oklahoma and pretty much every other school in the conference is stupid if they invite Houston. Why make then legitimate?

 

[Larry72]

Expansion with second tier programs with low revenue makes no sense.
OU needs to go to the B10 or SEC

 

[Bobby_Hill]

Oklahoma and pretty much every other school in the conference is stupid if they invite Houston. Why make then legitimate?

I agree, I don't see many Big XII schools giving the go ahead on adding another school from Texas.

 

[NickZepp]

Expansion with second tier programs with low revenue makes no sense.
OU needs to go to the B10 or SEC

Not happening. Louisville woulda been perfect with a Memphis/BYU/Cincy a few years ago. But it's too late. I can see taking Cincy. Gap spot between Iowa State and West Virginia. Big population added too. Only way expansion really makes sense is if it leads to making a Big 12 Network.

 

[WTSooner]

Expansion will be paid for simply by adding the Big 12 Championship game, and getting a slight bump in the tv deal.

But this expansion isn't about money. It's about trying to maintain a conference that at least has a fighting chance at surviving past our GOR's deal that ends in 7 years or so. It might be a long shot, but I'm in no hurry to leave to play in another conference where we won't be as localized, and we'll be the new kids on the block. I don't care what kind of football history has, the Big 10 or the SEC will never be "OU's conference."

 

[SoonerSpock]

Central Florida and South Florida.

End of discussion.

cf

I support expansion with Central and South Florida. It might not appear as attractive as some of the other options at first glance but a longer term perspective dissipates these concerns rather quickly when you consider the biggest restriction to both schools presently performing at a high level in both basketball and football has been recruiting. Becoming a member of a Power 5 conference should enable both schools to enhance their talent levels significantly in short order.

Additionally membership in the B12 should increase each schools athletic revenue by more than $15 million dollars which would further enhance recruiting success with the larger recruiting budget available to each school and perhaps all both athletic budget eliminate operating at a loss.

Don't forget the Central Florida has beaten both Georgia (2010 Liberty) and Baylor (2013 Fiesta) in bowl games recently. Since Jim Leavett left South Florida has not been as successful on the turf as has UCF but the did beat Clemson in a 2010 bowl game. Facility wise USF plays in Raymond James Stadium they share with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a 65,000 capacity and UCF plays at Bright House Network Stadium that seats 45,000.

Neither school has shown any consistency in basketball but that too should significantly improve with membership in the Big 12 and both schools have 10,000 capacity arenas for the sport. There is local talent available and now both schools would have a strong story to sell to prospects.

Florida is the third most populous state with 20.3 million people and population means TV set and TV set mean TV athletic revenue. The added Florida TV sets increases the total for the B12 by about 52% and that is a lot of additional revenue for all conference teams. Even with the addition of Florida to the B12 our population base of 59.5 million will be 9.3% less than the other 12 team conference Pac 12 (65.6 million) population and 33.3% less than the 14 team B1G (89.1 million). The SEC has a population base of 95.5 million and the ACC 97.6 million.

Lastly adding two Florida schools to the B12 would insure that every B12 school would play in Florida every year in all sports and that should allow every B12 school to improve its ability to sign Florida H.S. kids and that will make for a stronger league in all sports.

Personally I do not see two other schools that could bring nearly as many benefits to the B12 as could UCF and South Florida.

 

[inoref]

It's more likely that OU will expand

 

[OULad]

The Florida schools make a lot more sense than UConn

 

[skyvue]

I don't want to expand. I like that we play every other conference team in football and I like even more that we play every team home-and-away in basketball. I hate giant conferences where they don't even play every team in the conference. That's beyond absurd, in my opinion.

When the Big 12 had a championship game in football but other big conferences didn't, no one gave a hoot about conference title games. Now that those other conferences do have title games and the Big 12 doesn't, it's supposed to be a big deal? Screw that.

As for basketball, I don't think there's anything to gain by going to 12 teams. Not a thing. I hated it when we played teams from the north division just once. Heaven forbid we go back to that.