Conference Realignment Rumors: the Big 12 is looking to add a national champion

The Big 12 Conference may become even more of a basketball powerhouse, as reports indicate the conference is in early talks to add UConn, the back-to-back defending national champions, to the pack.

Last season, the Big 12 solidified its place in the college hoops stepladder of superiority with elite play from its conference members. With teams like Kansas and Baylor, who always bring the heat, manning their usual positions of dominance, along with Iowa State, Texas Tech, and newly-added Cougars from Houston and BYU adding an extra punch (a knockout punch in Houston's case) to the strength of schedule.

This season's group has become even stronger as the powerhouse program, Arizona, and rising Colorado were snatched in the "4 Corners Schools" annexation from the now-defunct Pac-12.

It seems that as the rest of the conferences realign in hopes of becoming the best football leagues in the nation, the Big 12 is putting its focus on basketball. Discussions have circulated for some time about further expansion in the Big 12, specifically around UConn and even Gonzaga--a school that has no football team.

This focus on hoops is brilliant when viewed from a NCAA doomsday believer's point of view. While football is easily the most profitable sport nationwide, the Big 12 conference has already lost its biggest football brands to the SEC in Texas and Oklahoma, and it's no secret that Utah is always keeping one foot out the door in case the Big 10 or SEC comes calling.

The Big 12 is never going to match the football power of its peers, but by being the 3rd-best football league while widening its gap as the premier basketball conference, the Big 12 retains its relevance if expansion continues as we expect. Self-awareness can be the Big 12's greatest power, as the Pac-12's lack thereof was its downfall.

For the original wave of expansion schools in BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF, seeing the Big 12 make moves to increase its longevity is like coming into your first day of work at Disney, only to find out that your company will be absorbing LucasFilm, Marvel, and 21st Century Fox. You're just happy you jumped on board when you did because now there's nowhere to go but up.

Before you tell all your coworkers about how the Big 12 just became the strongest league in the history of college sports, and you already feel sorry for the SEC, I'd recommend you temper your enthusiasm for a moment. To say that this addition is a "sure-thing" acquisition would be premature, as talks are still in their early stages and a few schools still need to be convinced before voting the champs into the league. As it stands, the current vote would fall 12 of 16 in favor of adding UConn.

UConn is all in, according to Pete Thamel at ESPN. He reported that a UConn officials including their athletic director, David Benedict, and their board chair Daniel Toscano, have already met with Big 12 athletic directors in person this month.

Surprisingly, UConn's case was largely centered around how strong their investment into football would be, as the school would look to add football to the Big 12 in 2031 in hopes that the program's added spending power paired with an influx of better recruits and inflated NIL would prepare them for their jump to a power conference.

ESPN reiterated that Big 12 commissioner, Brett Yormark, insists that basketball can be a driving factor in the financial aspects of television and media contracts.

"Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark has been bullish on basketball being more of a financial driver for the league's television contracts in upcoming years. UConn is the sport's dominant program and touches the country's top market, with a strong presence in the New York area. UConn is coming off back-to-back national titles in men's basketball and has boasted the country's best brand in women's basketball for the past generation."

- Thamel, ESPN

UConn would certainly be a strong basketball addition, but their history as a football program has been unimpressive. To join the Big 12, they'll need to convince ADs from across the league that they can become viable from increased exposure, NIL, and power conference resources.

In this age of college athletics, money talks more than ever. As elite of a program as Connecticut boasts, the Huskies' selling point will need to focus on football and convince its hopeful peers that they are an asset that is ready to add to the league, rather than an uncoordinated nephew that wants to play catch in the front yard.

This situation is still in its infancy, but keep an eye open for further news surrounding Big 12 expansion.

More BYU Cougars News: