College football expansion: Big 12 wants to add 1 more team, per reports
The college football expansion process is not over just yet, as the Big 12 wants to add at least one more team to its conference in order to get to 14 members after adding Colorado and losing Texas and Oklahoma in 2024, according to media reports.
Athletic directors from Big 12 teams met with conference commissioner Brett Yormark on Friday after the Colorado Board of Regents voted unanimously to leave the Pac-12 and re-join the Big 12 after the end of this coming football season.
That will bring the Big 12 to 13 members by next summer after the Longhorns and Sooners officially depart for the SEC and after adding BYU, Houston, UCF, and Cincinnati to counter those losses. Those teams start Big 12 play this season.
Related: Which schools could move next as realignment continues?
Where could the Big 12 go next? Several candidates have emerged during the long realignment process, including current Pac-12 member Arizona, which insiders have connected to the conference for several months as one of the so-called "Four Corners" schools that some in the Big 12 have wanted to target. Those include Colorado, Arizona State, and Utah, and of that group, Arizona is considered by those involved as the one most likely to consider a move.
Two big names in the basketball scene have also been considered, as the Big 12 has been connected to both Gonzaga and reigning national champion UConn, with the conference looking to further improve its already considerable standing in that sport.
If the Big 12 decides to add only one more team in the near future, it would want a school that has more of a standing in football. UConn has improved marginally on the gridiron under coach Jim Mora, Jr., but the belief is that some current member of the Pac-12 would better fit the bill of a higher quality football school.
And now as the Pac-12 looks to be in a weakened position since losing three schools in the last year-plus, that could be where the Big 12 turns again.
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