Big 12 candidates react to league's decision to not expand
The Big 12 decided Monday against adding any new members after a three-month process during which conference officials held interviews with 11 potential expansion candidates. Reaction from some of the schools who were considered:
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''Today's Big 12 announcement does not change the fact that we remain committed, competitive and optimistic. This process has only strengthened our collective resolve that we can compete with the best in class from academics to athletics.'' - University of Cincinnati interim president Beverly J. Davenport and athletic director Mike Bohn, in a joint statement.
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''The Big 12's decision in no way changes the mission of the University of Houston that began long before there was talk of conference expansion. ... We remain committed to strengthening our nationally competitive programs in academics and athletics that allow our student athletes to compete on the national stage. We are confident that in this competitive collegiate athletics landscape an established program with a history of winning championships and a demonstrated commitment to talent and facilities in the nation's fourth largest city will find its rightful place. Our destiny belongs to us.'' - University of Houston President Renu Khator.
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''One of the telling things about this process is that the Big 12, in wanting to expand, look at who they were talking to. Most of the schools they were talking to were in our conference. I think that shows, without question, that our conference plays at their level and are athletically and academically appropriate to be a Power Five.'' - UConn President Susan Herbst, who also serves as chairwoman of the board for the American Athletic Conference.
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''The Big 12 decision today will likely stabilize the FBS conference landscape in the short term. At Rice, we need to continue to promote our brand and schedule well to deliver the best environment possible for our students and fans.'' - Rice AD Joe Karlgaard.
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''Over the last few months, BYU has learned a lot about its strengths as an institution and as an athletic department. Through our in-depth review we have reinforced valuable relationships and have been reminded how strong we are as a university. BYU strives to run its athletic program like a P5 institution. Our national fan base and broadcast ratings, along with the many historical and recent successes of our teams, attest we certainly belong. We believe BYU can significantly contribute to the athletic and academic excellence of a P5 conference.'' - BYU official statement.
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''Our student-athletes, coaches, staff, donors, alumni, fans and community members have propelled our program to profound success in recent years in the American Athletic Conference and I am confident that they will continue to do so in the future. The USF family came together with many in the Tampa community to tell our remarkable story to the world, and we will continue to share it.'' - USF athletic director Mark Harlan.
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''I think it's easy to refocus on our vision to be the best program in the American Athletic Conference and if we do that then we'll compete on a national level across all 17 sports. Now we have everyone devoted to that vision. When we talked in the spring before the Big 12's announcement, we felt we were positioning ourselves to be another power conference. So in a lot of ways, this process validated that belief because ours was the league where they looked.'' - SMU AD Rick Hart told the Dallas Morning News.
