Big 12 Reportedly Considering Merger With Another Conference
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Anything is possible, but I don't see a 20 team conference making sense.
Safe to say Big 12 knows the conference is doomed and only chance not to lose more teams is to merge.
Sure the Big East remnants tried the same, but failed with only 3 teams.....8 would be just to much at one time.
Scrambling like roaches...
They need to merge with AAC and form a 20 team league any other conference will not take them All..Then load up on money deal till 2025 then renegotiate the TV deal....it may only go to about 20 25 million range but it's better then nothing..have 5 pods of 4 according to location and then go to a 10 game league where you play 2 teams of each pod and rotate on yearly basis adding to out of conference games...
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They are going to try with every P5 first and I would bet some teams will get picked up. Not like AAC won't be waiting by the phone to accept if they get turned down by the other conferences.
Professor...you've confused the hell out of me. I just don't see the PAC12 or BIG10 taking BIG12 leftovers just as a consolidation prize. Taking Kansas and Iowa State in the Big 10 is odd. The big boys have left the party. The now old BIG12 is on the odd side out. They have very little bargaining power. Even if they collectively decide to band together and add other teams, they're destined to disintegrate . UCF joining a conference when others are at the verge of jumping seems dangerous.
Your right..That's the Problem we don't know how bad they will be pillaged...My idea only works if they stay united..Like u said though if all jump ship then this strategy is doomed...
Conference realignment doesn't work that way. Conference realignment has never worked that way.
Lesser conferences do not poach teams from higher level conferences. It's the higher level conferences that ALWAYS pull teams up from lower level conferences.
The B12 leftovers will know within the next week whether they have a home in another P5 conference or not. If they don't, the B12 will pull up the best teams available from the G5. If the B10, PAC 10 and ACC don't want any of the B12 leftovers now...they are not going to turn around and want them three years from now, so there really is not much danger.
From a quality of sports programs perspective and TV value perspective, the order of desirability is probably something like BYU, UCF, Cincinnati as the clear top tier. Then Houston and SMU, although there is speculation that the remaining Texas teams don't want more Texas competition. After that probably Memphis and usf.
Boise is probably up there as a clear top tier in adding diversity...but I agree
You are right up to now but the 12 team playoff format could change the thinking. It will be interesting.
12 team playoff was just a proposal. Moves that are happening are going to alter that proposal more than the proposal altering what conferences do.
I would love to see the American Conference add West Virginia and Oklahoma State.😎
doubt that
but throwing out regional conferences for 1-2 super conference money doesn’t seem to be good for the Sport. They think this ‘super league’ will get NFL ratings , it won’t then they’ll blame NIL/the players if a bubble bursts and things go wrong
I dont think it will go wrong. It obviously wont get NFL ratings, but having the top programs play even more games against each other isnt really a recipe for disaster IMO.
One thing that is not going to change is higher level conferences raiding lower level conferences.
The 8 remaining teams in the B12 (or 7 or 6 teams if a couple find homes in another P5 conference) are teams that have had a decade, in some cases multiple decades, as BCS/power conference teams. They simply have more brand equity, more fan support, and therefore more TV value than 80% of the AAC.
Why would they associate themselves with all of the AAC teams...including teams with significantly less fan support, brand value and TV value...like Tulsa, ECU, usf, Tulane, etc when they could simply pick off the top 2-4 AAC teams and create a reconstituted B12 that will have better teams and a significantly better TV contract than the current AAC contract...or even an ACC contract with a couple of B12 leftovers added?
I dont know how much TV value the remaining Big 12 schools are going to have with football without OU and Texas in the conference. Kansas certainly does with basketball, but I dont think conference matters as much in basketball. But other than Kansas and maybe OK state (but I think OK state is stretch), what value do any of the other teams really bring? I dont think the TV markets are overly interested in Baylor (even in basketball I dont think most people are interested in them) or TT, or TCU or anyone like that.
you may be right but politics may get involved . Especially inside the State of Texas.
I personally find it to be a big risk for Texas and their brand if they don’t end up top 3 in that league soon
Maybe, but at the same time, Texas hasnt really been anything special since the Colt McCoy years, so it isnt as if they have been tearing it up recently anyway. I think this actually might renew interest in the program. Combining the NIL and the SEC, is going to be really appealing for top recruits to go to Texas.
Report: Iowa State and Kansas are talking to the Big Ten
The losers of this whole debacle are the other eight Big 12 schools. At least two schools are being proactive, reaching out to the Big Ten.
longhornswire.usatoday.com
Saw Finebaum toss around the idea of Iowa State and Cincy for Big 10 today.... we gotta do something
Yes! And Iowa State! ... to get the AAC to an even 14 teams which would give the AAC two divisions of 7 teams each.
If they are thinking merger it would be Pac12. Merger with AAC makes no sense for them. If they want to go big, lets say 14, add the best of the AAC, along with couple of possibilities from MWC and Byu, and leave the leftovers. Example,,, BYU, Boise, Cincy, UCF, plus your choice of 2 more from AAC. The AAC and MWC get weakened, the Best independent is gone and hopefully the B12 could hold on to being in the A5/P5 mix. If the new B14 could get a TV deal 12 to 15 mil, it will be the least of the power leagues but in the club. The MWC and AAC likely take a hit TV wise.
Just a month ago people were bragging that AAC and weaker conferences has a easier path to the playoffs. SEC is making their conference harder, they have a plan and it's not involving their conference cannibalizing their chances for being in the national spotlight.
People that are fans of non power programs will take their ball and go home. Fans of the major programs and college football fans not tied to a university salivate at seeing a schedule that is a blue blood virtually every week.
Make it tiers and teams can move up and down based on performance then it will be very popular.
I think it is very smart of Iowa State & Kansas. Be proactive.Report: Iowa State and Kansas are talking to the Big Ten
The losers of this whole debacle are the other eight Big 12 schools. At least two schools are being proactive, reaching out to the Big Ten.
The remaining B12 schools have as much brand equity as the AAC's TOP teams like UCF, Cincinnati, and maybe Houston and Memphis. By combining the B12 with the TOP schools from the AAC you now have a conference with SIGNIFICANTLY more value than a conference that still includes, Tulsa, Tulane, ECU and usf.
It's not UCF and Cincy that is keeping AAC teams from getting more than $7 million per year on the current TV contract. It's all the lower level teams that drag down TV ratings that bring down the AAC's value.
I feel so strongly about this, I have a $500 contribution to UCF Athletics riding on a bet with a doom-and-gloomer in the Dungeon. If the remaining B12 teams pull in UCF and whatever other teams necessary to get back to at least 10 teams, that reconstituted B12 will get a TV contract that averages at least $15 million per school yearly...which would be more than 2X the AAC's current contract.
They should have expanded 4 years ago. With UCF, With USF, with Cincy, with Memphis, etc
Great response Ski........interesting. Very Dangerous and expensive for UCF to think about jumping to the failing Big 12 right now. Big 12 would be best merging with the AAC at this point? thoughts?
I also feel the Big12 would get $14-15 mill per year by adding the top AAC teams.
Why would B12 leftovers stop trying to find a P5 home somewhere else just because they joined the AAC?
The B12 leftovers will know within the next week whether they have a home in another P5 conference or not. If not, a home in one of those other P5 conferences is very unlikely to open up in the next 3-4 years. Joining the B12 leftovers is not as "dangerous" as some people are making it out to be.
Even if you did join the Big 12, and the Big 12 ended up dissolving after the fact, the AAC would take us back in about half a second, there's literally no downside to it.
AAC dream would be for us to pay an exit fee and then soon after pay to enter again.
Yes. They paid extra to get out right away instead of giving the required advanced notice.
The cost part would be leaving. Just like Texas and OU are going to have to pay the Big 12 for leaving.
But as far as going back, UCF is too important of an asset to the AAC to not allow them back even if they left at some point.
