The Big 12 is expanding and doing so at warp speed.
Less than six weeks after Texas and Oklahoma announced their imminent departure to the SEC, the league is poised to add four new members in a process that could culminate in a week. UCF, Houston, BYU and Cincinnati are expected to apply to subscribe to Big 12 next week and then be approved to be admitted to a Big 12 chair meeting on Sept. 10, according to various sources. Sports Illustrated.
The league has the eight votes needed to expand.
In this scenario, the four teams will join the league in 2023 or, at the latest, in 2024, and will even be able to compete alongside Oklahoma and Texas before these two powerhouses leave for the SEC, achieving a couple of awkward seasons in a 14-. Big 12 team.
The timeline is fluid and has been described as optimistic, but unrealistic. Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby has even visited the site, and more recently made a trip to meet with Houston officials Thursday.
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“Now that the names [of the potential new additions] i’m out, i think this will speed up the process, “a Big 12 source said.
UCF, Houston and Cincinnati, the three members of the American Athletic Conference, must warn the league for 27 months and pay an exit penalty of $ 10 million. On the current schedule, teams would give a 23-month notice and would probably pay an increase in the exit rate. BYU is not a member of a football conference, but must give notice to the West Coast Conference for its other sports to leave the league.
The four new members are not expected to get full distribution shares immediately. However, its first-year shares in Big 12 are expected to double, if not triple, its U.S. distribution, which is around $ 6 million or $ 7 million.
A Big 12 source described the appeal of possible new additions rooted in both the television market / audience and football relevance. “Can you think of anyone who surpasses them in these areas?” asked the source. “All four have won in the last ten years with several head coaches. This is about infrastructure and commitment. ”
With the additions, the Big 12 will maintain its Autonomy 5 league status, according to college football leaders. The NCAA granted legislative powers in legislative matters to the Big Ten, SEC, Pac-12, ACC and Big 12, but the most important piece concerns the college football playoff. Power 5 conferences maintain binding bowls as part of the PCP contract, which does not expire until after the 2025 season.
The effect affecting the four new additions to the Texas and Oklahoma situation remains bleak and may depend on the discretion of Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, who could reach a compromise at any time. The two schools are contractually linked to the conference at least during the 2024 season through the league rights concession agreement. Breaking this deal early would mean owing the big 12 large sums of money, potentially more than $ 100 million for each year remaining in the deal.
Separately, the two programs owe an exit fine as part of a long-term agreement that conference members established several years ago. The exit rate is a gross income of two years, which is expected to be around $ 80 million.
The decision for OU and Texas to jump into the SEC has sent shockwaves through the college sports scene. The undulating effect of the movements could be felt for a long time in the sport.
It has triggered another wave of realignment that, for now, seems destined to rearrange the 5-league group (what does the AAC do now?).
He sent three Power 5 leagues — the ACC, the Big Ten, and the Pac-12 — that faced the creation of an association, the Alliance, with the express mission of not (1) stealing members of the Alliance. the other’s conference and (2) scheduled games against one. another in the future.
And finally, the OU / Texas movement has delayed the approval of an expansion model of 12 PCP teams, which seemed destined for passage at the end of this month at a meeting between Playoff executives. Some college football leaders want to stop approving the expansion in light of the realignment wave and give more opportunities to other media partners to bid on the product.
The CFP has a seven-year 12-year contract with ESPN. Leaders could renegotiate the deal before the contract ends, but that could mean ESPN gets the exclusive rights, which many executives are against. Or they could wait until the contract expires to open it up to the market so that more media partners can offer parts of the twelve-team contract, creating multimedia owners in the postseason of the college football championship.
There is a third option, but it depends on ESPN agreeing to break the contract sooner and allow a second media partner to bid a portion of the extended playoff.
In the meantime, will the AAC have an answer to the loss of three of its richest members? A wave of realignment is now likely to reach the five-row group. Some feel as if Conference USA is ripe for the American boot. The Sun Belt could also try to make a powerful play to usurp the AAC as the best G5 league in the country. Meanwhile, the Mountain West Conference could emerge victorious from the G5 if it keeps its membership intact.
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