New month and the Big 12 finally made a decision…to get rid of a handful of teams. Lot of articles out there, but they basically repeat themselves so I’ll only provide three that really matter:
Big 12 expansion candidates down to at least 12 schools, sources say
Brett McMurphy
The 12 schools are: Air Force, BYU, UCF, Cincinnati, Colorado State, UConn, Houston, Rice, South Florida, SMU, Temple and Tulane.
While at least a dozen schools made the cut, several others did not, including Arkansas State, Boise State, East Carolina, New Mexico, Northern Illinois, San Diego State and UNLV, sources said.
Sources indicated that Cincinnati, BYU and Houston remain at the forefront of expansion candidates for now, with the addition of two members the most likely option. Data by Navigate Research has indicated that the Big 12 could increase its chances of reaching the College Football Playoff by 12 percent by adding two members and restoring a conference title game.
Air Force survives first Big 12 expansion cut, source says
The “football only” caveat attached to Air Force represents a major development, if true. First, it would likely mean the academy would require a smaller piece of the Big 12’s revenue pie to join, which could certainly make its case more attractive to those wanting to keep that money.
