Oklahoma President Still Wants Big 12 Expansion
By Ty Duffy
Oklahoma president David Boren is not a majority voice in the Big 12. But, he is a notable, outspoken one, and he’s still more than a bit jealous of those bigger conferences, strutting around the locker-room and getting all the girls.
Boren wants a “comprehensive plan” for the Big 12, including expansion back to 12 teams and expanding the Longhorn Network into a Big 12 network. He wants to get the wheels in motion in February.
" “I’m hoping that the idea of the playoff (championship) game will not be considered in isolation,” Boren said. “I hope it will be part of a comprehensive reform of the conference. I really think this is an opportunity to do that.” That may be the right idea. The trouble is who are the two teams the Big 12 could add that would stabilize the conference and improve its footing after the next grant of rights agreement expires. BYU and Boise State might make the most sense from a pure football perspective, maybe not from a culture and academics one. Houston? Sexy for now with Tom Herman. Adds another mouth but no market share. Moving East may make more sense from a business perspective. UCF and USF? Cincinnati? Memphis? Any of those additions keeping Texas from bolting? A lot could happen between now and the expiration of the Big 12’s grant of rights. But, adding a couple more non-entities just seems like complicating the inevitable breakup. In our August media survey, just one of 27 media respondents had the Big 12 staying pat at 10 teams after the grant of rights expires. Twelve had the Big 12 no longer existing. "