UConn Aims To Be Piece Of Big 12 Expansion Puzzle
As football coaches and athletic directors gathered in Phoenix last week, the leaders of the Big 12 were pondering the conference's future.
Should the league add members, split into two divisions and create a football title game? Should the conference expand its geographic footprint and create a TV network? And, if expansion is the answer, where does the Texas-based league look for new members?
One thing seems certain — the 10-member Big 12 must do something to keep pace with other revenue-rich Power Five conferences.
And as the league considered its next steps during the meetings in Arizona, the decisions could have a profound impact on a campus 2,500 miles away.
UConn is very much in the mix as the Big 12 considers expansion. After being on the sidelines during the last rounds of conference realignment, UConn might have yet another opportunity to join a Power Five conference.
That's why the next two months could be critical for the school. The Big 12 presidents and athletic directors will meet in Irving, Texas, May 31 to June 3 as the league moves closer to a decision on its future. Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said this week that the conference committee that studies expansion will hold two conference calls this month and the board of governors will hold another.
When the Big 12 finishes its meetings on June 3, there could be some indication of whether expansion is pending. Certainly, a signal of the future should come this summer.
"Once I think we see all the pieces of the puzzle, we need to make some decisions," Bowlsby said, according to the Dallas Morning News. "There isn't any sense in having them linger on any longer than necessary."
Besides revenue, the Big 12 is concerned with remaining competitive in the College Football Playoff format. Holding a playoff game would enhance members' chances of securing one of four slots in the playoffs and the conference could stage a title game without expanding.
But research presented to members last week shows that a 12-team league playing an eight-game conference schedule and a title game would offer the conference the best opportunity to land a team in the playoffs, increasing the league's chances by 10 to 15 percent.
The data was presented by Chicago-based Navigate Research, which ran 40,000 simulations and used 10 years of data. Navigate will reportedly make a presentation to the conference presidents at the next round of meetings, when TV consultant Bevilacqua Helfant Ventures will also offer its finding.
That's when UConn could emerge as a favorite in expansion talks. The Big 12 is considering a TV network and UConn would be an entry into some large markets well outside of the conference's traditional footprint. The Hartford-New Haven market is 30th in the country, but the market is 20th with Fairfield County added.
Beyond the state, UConn could offer a Big 12 network entry into New York and Boston. The school has a large number of alumni in both markets.
Other candidates include Cincinnati (36th largest market), Brigham Young (36th) and Memphis (50th). Other possibilities: Houston (10th), South Florida (11th, Tampa-St. Petersburg), Colorado State (17th, Denver) and UCF (19th, Orlando).
UConn's connection to New York — promoted by the school on a billboard at the Lincoln Tunnel — might be the school's best pitch to join the decidedly Southern conference. Fellow American Athletic Conference members Cincinnati and Memphis have gone public in their lobbying to the Big 12 while UConn officials have privately said the school is taking a more low-key approach.
But the Big 12 decision-makers know what UConn offers.
"They know who we are and what we are," one UConn official said. "They have all our stats. They know more about us than we know about us and they have consultants updating that."
Bevilacqua Helfant Ventures is led by Chris Bevilacqua, a long-time TV sports consultant who founded College Sports Television. With the Atlantic Coast Conference reportedly on the verge of creating its own network and the Big Ten securing a $250 million media rights deal with Fox, Big 12 officials may see a conference network as a way to keep pace financially with other conferences.
The sticking point: Texas has the Longhorn Network, which was born out of a 20-year, $295 million partnership with ESPN in 2010. Texas is reportedly opposed to the formation of a Big 12 network or of converting the Longhorn Network to a conference-focused channel.
Conference bylaws require a 75 percent (eight schools) vote in order to make a significant changes such as expansion. It has been reported that Oklahoma and West Virginia are proponents of a expansion, leading a bloc of seven schools that favor a move.
Texas, Texas Tech and Texas Christian reportedly have resisted expansion.
"I can't say I've got an open mind on any of these issues," interim Texas athletic director Mike Perrin told reporters at the meetings this week. "I've got an open mind on receiving information."
The expansion committee consists of three presidents — David Boren of Oklahoma, Gordon Gee of West Virginia and Ken Starr of Baylor. Boren has been the most vocal in favor of expansion, while Gee, the former Ohio State president, is said to seek a travel partner for West Virginia.
Cincinnati would seem an ideal fit for West Virginia's needs. BYU, with a traditionally strong football program and a national presence, might appeal to the football-centric conference.
But UConn offers a strong academic profile and strong basketball programs. The women's program could form rivalries with Baylor and Oklahoma, while the men would join a conference that includes Kansas, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Iowa State.
Meanwhile, UConn could have another option. With the ACC reportedly close to launching its own network with ESPN, Notre Dame could become a full member of the conference. If Notre Dame adds its football program to the ACC, the league will need another school to even its divisions.
Could that be UConn's opportunity?
For now, all eyes on the heart of Texas.
"If we do nothing, we'll be substantially behind a decade from now," Bowlsby said.
[MENTION=12]Deuce[/MENTION] it looks like expansion is inevitable. I'm not excited about the prospects at all. Texas is such a jerk.
I'll take UConn, Cinci and the two Florida schools to get to 14 I suppose. I don't like it but staying pat is not gonna work.