BleedGopher
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Looks like the next round of conference realignment is not too far off. Per ESPN:
The Big 12 has been a 10-team conference since 2012, after Nebraska, Colorado, Texas A&M and Missouri left during the last major wave of realignment and TCU and West Virginia joined.
The conference has been batting around the idea of adding more members for more than a year and begins its search with plenty of suitors. The Big 12 has been getting pitches behind the scenes for months from American Athletic Conference schools such as Cincinnati, UConn, Memphis, Houston and Central Florida. BYU, a football independent, has made it known it wants into a Power 5 conference. Colorado State has also reached out to Big 12 leaders.
"We've been contacted by a number of institutions, and I would imagine after this news breaks we'll be contacted again," Bowlsby said.
Big 12 leaders have acknowledged that none of the available schools is a natural fit. None is guaranteed to deliver both highly competitive teams -- especially football teams -- as well as large new markets to increase the value of future media deals.
"We are looking for members that will grow over time as we grow," Bowlsby said. "That bring stability. That have a high top end."
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/17108512/big-12-begin-exploring-expansion-candidates
Go Gophers!!
The Big 12 has been a 10-team conference since 2012, after Nebraska, Colorado, Texas A&M and Missouri left during the last major wave of realignment and TCU and West Virginia joined.
The conference has been batting around the idea of adding more members for more than a year and begins its search with plenty of suitors. The Big 12 has been getting pitches behind the scenes for months from American Athletic Conference schools such as Cincinnati, UConn, Memphis, Houston and Central Florida. BYU, a football independent, has made it known it wants into a Power 5 conference. Colorado State has also reached out to Big 12 leaders.
"We've been contacted by a number of institutions, and I would imagine after this news breaks we'll be contacted again," Bowlsby said.
Big 12 leaders have acknowledged that none of the available schools is a natural fit. None is guaranteed to deliver both highly competitive teams -- especially football teams -- as well as large new markets to increase the value of future media deals.
"We are looking for members that will grow over time as we grow," Bowlsby said. "That bring stability. That have a high top end."
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/17108512/big-12-begin-exploring-expansion-candidates
Go Gophers!!