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Is it time for the Big 12 to expand again?

By Adam Gibby

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 30: Quarterback Jayden Daniels #5 of the Arizona State Sun Devils looks to pass against the Wisconsin Badgers during the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl at Allegiant Stadium on December 30, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Badgers defeated the Sun Devils 20-13. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 30: Quarterback Jayden Daniels #5 of the Arizona State Sun Devils looks to pass against the Wisconsin Badgers during the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl at Allegiant Stadium on December 30, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Badgers defeated the Sun Devils 20-13. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images) /
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Oregon running back Travis Dye celebrates his second quarter touchdown against Colorado Saturday Oct. 30, 2021.Eug 103121 Uo Cofb26
Oregon running back Travis Dye celebrates his second quarter touchdown against Colorado Saturday Oct. 30, 2021.Eug 103121 Uo Cofb26 /

Prediction

Of all the possible scenarios or angles that the Big 12 can take, the most likely outcome is that there will be a mix of three areas that were mentioned above. Of course, one of the Hail Mary scenarios would take a top spot over any of these, but since those odds are so small, for this article they will be left out.

In order of phone calls, I believe these will be the additions to the Big 12.

  1. Arizona State and Arizona – These will be called together. They are already sort of in the Big 12 footprint and would come as a package deal. The two don’t want to be separated and aren’t big enough to likely be picked up by themselves. They would probably be the first to be willing to jump from their league.
  2. Utah – The Utes have had some recent success. If the Arizona schools were to leave, Utah would be the next obvious team to leave. They know they are good enough to bring value to the Big 12, but also not big enough to be invited by the Big 10 or SEC.
    • After calling and securing Utah, the call should be made to Oregon and Washington. This would perhaps give the Big 12 leverage to get these two to join, while at the same time not risking losing Utah or the Arizona Schools to a newly made Pac 12 conference.
  3. UNLV and SDSU – These would be two quick additions that would join without asking any questions. This would get the Big 12 into two huge markets and would create a nice footprint into the west coast. If the Big 12 is going for only 16 teams, SDSU probably would get the first call since they are the better team and would tap into the SoCal market.
  4. Stanford – What? Stanford didn’t even make the lists?! Yes, but the Cardinal have more NCAA Championships in other sports than almost any other team in the nation. Having Stanford would also open up Northern California and add academics and a huge endowment to the conference. Think of them as Vanderbilt in the SEC. This would put the Big 12 at 18 teams.
  5. Colorado and Memphis – These two schools would be the 19th and 20th picks by the conference mainly due to their markets. The Memphis market would strengthen the conference eastward, and Denver would be a strong market right in the middle of the US.

Next in line: If any of the schools above chose not to join the league the order that the Big 12 should take should be as follows.

  • Boise State
  • California
  • Oregon State
  • Washington State
  • North Dakota State
  • Air Force

What do you think? Should the Big 12 expand or play the waiting game? Let us know in the comments.

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