Big 12 presidents are expected to take part in a call Monday to discuss potential league expansion and could even vote to extend invitations to prospective schools, Houston-area reporter Mark Berman reported Friday morning.
The call could usher in another round of realignment in a summer filled with it as the SEC expanded to 16 teams and the Pac-12, ACC and Big Ten entered into an informal alliance agreement centered on scheduling. The news comes as BYU, Houston, UCF and Cincinnati have in recent days emerged as recent expansion targets, with all four expected at this point to likely be invited to the Big 12. Brett McMurphy reported Friday those invitations — and to those four teams — could be made at some point this month.
Given the Pac-12’s decision not to expand and the other major conferences seemingly standing pat, the remaining eight teams in the Big 12 choosing to stay put and expanding makes logistical sense for survival. UCF, BYU, Houston and Cincinnati all make sense as well, each with different selling points.
Getting to 12 teams in the “Big 12” is a perk, too, and when the next TV deal is up having 12 teams could at the very least help soften the significant blow of losing OU and Texas to the SEC. While losing both cut the league’s TV value by roughly half, adding four teams and additional inventory — particularly in big markets — could give the conference some financial stability and negotiating power.
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