And then there were 8. After much discussion, Texas and Oklahoma have officially been approved for membership into the SEC by a unanimous 14-0 vote. Big East football? Gone. Its successor, the American Athletic Conference, has built itself up over the years but is still no more than a Group of 5 conference. WAC FBS football? Gone. The Big 8 Conference and the Southwest Conference, the two predecessors that merged to create the Big 12 in 1994? Both Gone. So the question remains: Is this the end of the Big 12 for good, or just the end of an era?
Texas and Oklahoma are host to the two largest stadium capacities (100,000 and 86,000) in the conference. With Nebraska, Texas A&M and to a lesser extent Missouri not being in the conference, the next closest in stadium capacity is Iowa State's Jack Trice Stadium at 61,000. The other 8 members of the Big 12, while having been successful in various sports, have not achieved a national brand that Texas and Oklahoma have. In today's collegiate landscape where streaming services play such an integral role, the lack of a conference network combined with the lack of national following throughout the conference limits its marketability. In essence, Texas and Oklahoma saw the writing on the wall. The Big 12 had reach its ceiling and seeing how the Big Ten and SEC continues to flourish, they wanted out.
Back in 2016, the Big 12 conference conducted a 3-month expansion exploration with the possibility of adding 2 schools to the conference to bring the total membership to 12. Although the university presidents decided against expansion beyond the 10 schools that currently make up the conference and honor the current media rights deal. Essentially, they chose to get more money instead of potentially battling with media partners over another reworked deal due to a pro rata clause in the TV contract.
Obviously, there's no replacing the attraction and revenue that Texas and Oklahoma brought to the Big 12 conference. However, if the conference manages to secure a media rights deal that bring stability and perhaps an annual payout per school beyond the Group of 5 level, there are a few suitable options for expansion. Group of 5 schools such as Cincinnati, Houston, UCF, Colorado State, and Tulane were all under consideration for membership. Whatever the case may be going forward for the remaining 8 schools that are left to fend for their futures, they cannot operate from a position of weakness. Unlike 2016, they have to have the last say as to what schools will receive serious consideration, which schools to approve for new membership and it must do so without the major influence of Oklahoma and Texas.
With the ACC, Big Ten, and Pac-12 announcing the forming of an alliance as well as the Pac-12 deciding against expansion, this opportunity may be the last chance that the Big 12 Conference has to finally get it right.
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