Report: Big 12 to discuss expansion, UCF among candidates
The big conference dreams of UCF and several other schools could be decided later this week.
According to a report from The Sporting News, the Knights are among four expansion candidates that will be discussed when Big 12 athletic directors and presidents gather for meetings later this week.
Mike DeCourcy, who is a college basketball columnist, says a "source close to the situation" tells him the Big 12 will consider three options:
1. Adding Cincinnati and UConn.
2. Adding UCF and USF.
3. No expansion at all.
According to the source, BYU was no longer considered a viable option because of "obstacles that appear to be too considerable," one of which is their aversion to Sunday play.
DeCourcy has previously cited anonymous sources when it comes to the possibility of Big 12 expansion. In December 2014, DeCourcy, who is a former writer at the Cincinnati Enquirer, reported Big 12 officials met with administrators from the University of Cincinnati, according to a "source close to the university."
Oklahoma President David Boren has been vocal in his desire for the Big 12 to expand and develop a conference-specific network like the Big Ten and SEC.
Boren, West Virginia President Gordon Gee and Baylor's Kenneth Starr comprise the Big 12's expansion committee. Boren declined to name prospective expansion candidates when he met with the media last week, but acknowledged it's probably the same "six or seven" that reporters have previously mentioned.
"Not every school in America is available," Boren said. "They're already in other Power 5 conferences and so on. There are some other schools around the country that are not in Power 5 conferences that have not given grants of rights that are fairly attractive. We're doing in-depth looks at each one of them to get all the data. What's their fan base? What economic impact would they be? If we added them, would it dilute the soup or would it make the soup thicker, so to speak, for all the remaining members of the conference?"
In order to expand, eight of the Big 12's 10 member schools need to be in agreement. Even if that occurs, the path to a conference network appears much more arduous. There's the issue of Texas and the Longhorn Network, plus it's unclear what television partner would bankroll another conference network in what's now a cord-cutting era.
"I have felt all along that we should and so to have a network that’s efficient and functioning, our leadership in the conference, our media advisers, say that you've have to have everybody in it," Boren said. "In other words, you can't have a Big 12 network and have 10 schools and have nine of them in it or something like that. All the outstanding networks have to be folded into the Big 12 network. And we're probably losing $4 or $5 million, $6 million, there are various estimates a year by not having a Big 12 network. Per school."
UCF has long been touted by national media as a school that should be considered a Big 12 frontrunner. ESPN's Joe Schad and FOX Sports' Bruce Feldman have advocated for the Big 12 to expand with the combo of UCF and Cincinnati, while Orangebloods.com publisher and Yahoo! Sports talk-show host Geoff Ketchum likes the UCF/USF pair in order to tap into Florida's deep recruiting talent pool.
In addition to location and market, UCF's biggest selling point has been its recent football success, namely a Fiesta Bowl victory against Baylor in 2013 and a repeat of the American Athletic Conference championship in 2014. The Knights did take a major step back in 2015, finishing 0-12 and seeing a complete overhaul of the coaching staff that eventually led to Scott Frost's arrival.
USF possesses the same potential as UCF and after a stretch of down seasons appears to be on the upswing, reaching a bowl game in 2015.
Though not as large as Tampa or Orlando, Cincinnati has a respectable market and has been the most consistent in football and men's basketball. They also help bridge the gap by giving a geographic rival to Big 12 newcomer West Virginia.
UConn is a power in both men's and women's basketball. The men won the National Championship two years ago and the women have 10 national championships to their name, including the last three titles (2013-15).
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