Is Texas impacting other Big 12 schools’ possible expansion votes?
In-conference politicking going on in the Big 12? We’re shocked.
According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Texas is “believed to be influencingTexas Tech’s and Texas Christian’s decisions to also be reluctant to expansion.”
Per the report, UT is using its pull because of the Big 12’s rules regarding expanding the conference. If the conference was to expand, there would need to be greater than 75 percent support for the idea. With 10 teams in the Big 12, that means eight yes votes would be needed and seven teams could vote yes on expansion without the three Texas schools.
Texas Tech has long fallen in line with Texas. Both are public universities that have been in the same league together since 1956, when they were in the Southwest Conference. Texas and Texas Tech were founding members of the Big 12 in 1996.
TCU is believed to be following Texas’ lead because the conference’s power broker reportedly helped the Horned Frogs get into the Big 12 four years ago.
The Enquirer has been following the possibility of Big 12 expansion for a while because the University of Cincinnati has been considered a major candidate for the Big 12 if the conference adds two more teams. The Bearcats would help bridge the geographical gap between the rest of the conference and West Virginia and would bring additional television markets that other Texas schools would not.
Plus, Oklahoma president David Boren is a fan of the Bearcats. He has previously praised Cincy’s president in emails and has been supportive of the school.
To add teams, the league would have to redistribute its revenue sources. And Texas has a possible large revenue source in the Longhorn Network, though the network has lost money so far.
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Could it be converted into a Big 12 network? The Enquirer also reported Big 12 officials “have been in talks about essentially converting the Longhorn Network into the Big 12 Network.” As a carrot to Texas, the school would get a bigger piece of the pie.
Expansion is the dominant topic as the Big 12’s spring meetings are held this week. Conference commissioner Bob Bowlsby said data from the league’s consulting group showed the conference had a better chance of making the College Football Playoff with 12 teams and a conference championship game.
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However, it seems that Texas athletic director Mike Perrin has already made up his mind on the topics that will be discussed throughout the week. And if his quote below jives with the Enquirer report, this is going to be one eventful set of meetings.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
