College football: Big 12 to pursue expansion after losing Texas, Oklahoma to SEC
College football realignment took another huge turn when Texas and Oklahoma confirmed they will leave the Big 12 and move to the SEC a year earlier than expected, set to move in the summer of 2024.
Now that leaves the Big 12 looking for a way to respond in a way that puts itself in position to compete in this new marketplace.
Chief among those plans is further expansion, as the Big 12 is looking to "aggressively pursue" expansion in the near future, according to SI.
College football expansion: What's next after Texas, Oklahoma decision
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Who could join? Any long list of prospective members is not yet known, but Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark has met with officials from Gonzaga back in November and reports suggest there is "growing mutual interest" to forge an alliance.
Big 12 wants to increase exposure: After the SEC and especially the Big Ten increased their market share in TV broadcasting, the Big 12 wants to ensure its content is being seen as long as possible on Saturdays, and to do that it wants to likely add West Coast-based assets in the Pacific time zone.
Texas, Oklahoma leaving early: Back when the schools revealed their plan to join the SEC, it was expected they would do so in 2025, when the Big 12 grant of rights agreement runs out. But from the start, both OU and Texas were working behind the scenes to work out some early exit plans.
Big 12 has already expanded: In the wake of the original announcement that Texas and Oklahoma were planning to leave the conference and join the SEC, the Big 12 moved fast by adding four new members.
BYU, Houston, UCF, and Cincinnati are set to join the Big 12 for the 2023 college football season, bringing the league's total to 14 members.
2024 is a big year: In addition to Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC next year, USC and UCLA are also set to move to the Big Ten, and the College Football Playoff will expand from four to 12 teams.
(SI)
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