The Big 12 Conference expansion reports are coming at a furious pace as the 2021 college football season ramps up, and BYU continues to be a central figure in those talks.
The latest report, this one from Action Network’s Brett McMurphy on Friday, indicated that the Big 12 could extend invitations to BYU, along with the three other top expansion targets — Cincinnati, Houston and UCF of the American Athletic Conference — by the end of this month.
McMurphy also reported that BYU could join the Power Five league by 2022, while Cincinnati, Houston and UCF “may not join until a year or two later.”
“There is no definitive date (when the invitations would be extended),” a source told McMurphy. “Do we take all four at the same time or BYU first and the others later? That’s something that must be determined. There are no easy answers.”
This comes one day after The Athletic’s Max Olson reported the Big 12 was “focused” on BYU and the three AAC programs as the leading expansion candidates.
The Big 12 was forced to look at expansion with Oklahoma and Texas leaving to join the Southeastern Conference. That will leave the Big 12 with just eight members when those two charter members bolt for the SEC.
A few other things that stand out from Big 12 expansion reports during the past 24 hours:
- On Friday morning, the Houston Chronicle’s Matt Young reported that the remaining eight members of the Big 12 are expected to vote to expand next week, and that Houston will receive unanimous approval. Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston later reported that Big 12 presidents would talk on a call Monday to discuss expansion and potentially extend invitations to BYU, Houston, Cincinnati and UCF.
- ESPN’s Heather Dinich and Adam Rittenberg reported that officials from the four aforementioned schools have reached out to the Big 12 about membership, along with other schools.
- “TV audience, football relevancy and certainly market size is a factor,” and among the key factors the Big 12 is using to determine expansion candidates, McMurphy reported. “Men’s basketball brand also is extremely important. The Big 12 is one of the best — if not the best basketball league in the country.”
When could BYU join the Big 12?
BYU’s situation is unique compared to other expansion candidates, as the Cougars are independent in football and compete in the West Coast Conference for most other sports.
That’s how BYU could theoretically join the Big 12 next season, at least in football — unlike Cincinnati, UCF and Houston, who would need to give 27 months’ notice and pay a $10 million exit fee to the AAC before leaving for the Big 12, per Olson.
One thing that is unclear at this point is whether the Big 12 could extend BYU a football-only invitation, particularly given the school’s no-Sunday policy that would be more of a headache in Olympic sports scheduling. Olson reported Thursday that BYU could join the Power Five league as a football-only member, while McMurphy reported Friday that the Big 12 would prefer to add all-sports members.
The question becomes, then, how difficult would it be for BYU to handle its future scheduling agreements in football — the independent Cougars have future games scheduled through 2035, and at least 10 opponents secured each season through 2024.
What other schools has the Big 12 considered?
McMurphy reported that the Big 12 has also considered Boise State, Memphis, SMU and USF as expansion candidates, though BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF are the schools in focus now.
BYU and Boise State have both been tied to Big 12 expansion talks for years, including back in 2016 when the conference went through an expansion research process before ultimately deciding to stand pat.
Many have considered BYU and Boise State ideal travel partners if they joined the Big 12 together, and they have had a long-standing relationship during the Cougars’ independence era, having played every season since 2012. The two schools are also scheduled to play every season through 2034, minus the 2024 season.
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