Who Should the Big 12 Target Next?
According to multiple reports, the Big 12 Conference is set to expand once again by welcoming back Colorado in 2024.
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark declined to give much insight on where things stood with potential new members and the league's pursuit to expand, but he did mention that fourteen is a strong number for a Power Five conference.
"I do think there's strength in numbers," Yormark said at Big 12 media days earlier this month. "But I also said we're not chasing a number. If and when the opportunity presents itself to stay at 14, we'll pursue it. It's not about chasing a number. It's about creating value for membership and we'll see where that takes us."
Assuming Yormark wants to reach fourteen members, what schools should they consider?
PAC 12 schools: Arizona/Arizona State, Oregon, Utah
The PAC 12 is on the brink of collapsing, if it's not already considered as such. The remaining institutions will need to find a new home and geographically, it makes the most sense for those schools to want to end up in the Big 12. The Arizona schools and Utah have been linked to the Big 12 before and will certainly be linked again once Colorado officially bolts. But Oregon is the big one. An all-around strong athletic program that has a strong national brand, which is something the league currently lacks.
Group of Five schools: SMU, South Florida, UConn
SMU used to be a powerhouse football program. It took a really long time for them to recover after receiving the death penalty from the NCAA in 1987, but they've played some really good ball of late and appear to be heading in the right direction. It's another Texas institution, so the footprint makes complete sense. I don't see why SMU couldn't have similar success to TCU in the Big 12, who was in a Group of Five conference until 2012.
South Florida is the biggest risk of the three. But they also have the most potential. It's a boom-or-bust situation with the Bulls. If they get things turned around and recruit the state of Florida well, they could be a sleeping giant. That said, Yormark isn't going to reach and instead will search for something that creates value now -- not something he hopes creates value. USF may make more sense down the line.
Yormark wants to build the ultimate basketball conference. The Big 12 is already the best league in all of college basketball, but adding UConn would be a move for basketball more than anything.
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