A clear message was sent to the Big 12 ....

I know there are financial concerns about expanding. You can't just add a couple of teams overnight. And two more teams reduces the per team cut of the yearly profits. But the addition of a conference championship has to be a financial boom, a team like BYU is going to bring a ton of money to the table with its massive alumni base and stable athletic department, and bringing in a Cicinnati would provide a bridge for West Virginia to the rest of the conference.

I reckon I just have a problem with the Big 12 because I see them as the intentional odd ball of the group. They ran off Nebraska, Texas A&M, Missouri, and Colorado. They gloated about how they didn't need any of them nor did they need a title game. They were the only conference with "one true champion" and then refused to follow their own bylaws to declare a rightful champion in order to manipulate the playoff committee.

Who are they going to add?

Rice? UHouston? SMU? North Texas? Tulsa? Some Texas equivalent to UAB?

I guess if they are willing to go all the way to West Virginia, they can go way out, and get "Bozo State". That will really bring respect to Bevo and the Dwarfs.

LCN said:

They had better find a way to get back to 12 teams with a CCG before next season .

Possibilities ? I'm thinking any 2 from this group - Colorado St. , Boise St. , BYU and Cincinnati with Air Force , Rice and Houston as long shots .

Thoughts ?

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Solve two problems by adding Notre Dame and BYU to the Big XII. There are only 4 Independents out of 128 FBS teams. Notre Dame, BYU, Army and Navy.

cuda.1973 said:

Who are they going to add?

Rice? UHouston? SMU? North Texas? Tulsa? Some Texas equivalent to UAB?

I guess if they are willing to go all the way to West Virginia, they can go way out, and get "Bozo State". That will really bring respect to Bevo and the Dwarfs.

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It would be delicious for them to have to go hat-in-hand to Rice and UH.

GrayTide said:

Solve two problems by adding Notre Dame and BYU to the Big XII. There are only 4 Independents out of 128 FBS teams. Notre Dame, BYU, Army and Navy.

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With what just happened they might both be more open to joining a conference.

The Big 12 continues to be the football conference equivalent of 1938 Poland - stuck between bigger powers; largely too weak to defend itself; no allies willing to protect it. It's just a matter of time until they get invaded. Until then, they'll be left to twist in the breeze.

If I were the other power conferences, I like what happened today; basically, it's as close as you can get to a guarantee that those four champions get in with the Big12 left out in most years. I'd have no interest in saving the Big12 from their own inanity and reducing my odds from 100% to 80%. I'd decline the waiver request on the championship game. That leaves the Big 12 with a couple of options, either of which is palatable to the other four power conferences:

1. Continue the status quo. Remain irrelevant in the playoffs unless a Big12 member goes undefeated AND has a quality non-conference win while at least one other Power 5 champ and Notre Dame have multiple losses.
2. Add two or more weak football teams and further diminish the conference's strength of schedule, making it harder to get in even with a championship game winner unless the conditions above also apply.

Now that I've said it, of course, the opposite will happen...

GrayTide said:

Solve two problems by adding Notre Dame and BYU to the Big XII. There are only 4 Independents out of 128 FBS teams. Notre Dame, BYU, Army and Navy.

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Navy will join the American Conference (formerly Big East) next year.

DzynKingRTR said:

Navy will join the American Conference (formerly Big East) next year.

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For football only. Their other sports will remain in the Patriot League.

GrayTide said:

Solve two problems by adding Notre Dame and BYU to the Big XII. There are only 4 Independents out of 128 FBS teams. Notre Dame, BYU, Army and Navy.

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If Texas and Notre Dame were in the same conference, it would be like Nemesis was calling the Big 12 to a pool of water.

GrayTide said:

Solve two problems by adding Notre Dame and BYU to the Big XII. There are only 4 Independents out of 128 FBS teams. Notre Dame, BYU, Army and Navy.

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BYU and Notre Dame won't join a conference anytime soon. BYU could have gone to the PAC 10 ahead of Utah but they felt it is better for them to be independent. Notre Dame, well no explanation needed. Boise would be the best choice with Houston to round it off

GreatDanish said:

If Texas and Notre Dame were in the same conference, it would be like Nemesis was calling the Big 12 to a pool of water.

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I see you are channeling your inner Percy Jackson.

I'm not sure they could put a championship game by next year. Even if they tried it without expanding, the logistics would be hard to do it by the 2015 season.
No doubt the commissioner thought they would get the forth spot. As it's set up, one conference is going to be left out each year. If we lost the SECCG the SEC would be out and the Big 12 would be in.

Mamacalled said:

BYU and Notre Dame won't join a conference anytime soon. BYU could have gone to the PAC 10 ahead of Utah but they felt it is better for them to be independent. Notre Dame, well no explanation needed. Boise would be the best choice with Houston to round it off

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I think the Pac 10 rejected BYU because of the LDS Church's stance on gay marriage.

At this point the Big 12 would be foolish to expand. No potential candidates that can pull their weight. For the next few years the Big 12 should accept that their teams (not named Texas or Oklahoma) will have to be undefeated to make the playoffs unless the other conferences flame out during the season or in their conference championship games. That's life. However, I believe a one-loss Texas or Oklahoma would get serious consideration for inclusion in the playoffs.

I don't understand why Bowlsby is being slammed. The committee deemed that neither TCU nor Baylor was one of the top 4 teams. There is nothing whatsoever that Bowlsby could have said or done, or not said or not done, that would have changed that decision.

Mamacalled said:

BYU and Notre Dame won't join a conference anytime soon. BYU could have gone to the PAC 10 ahead of Utah but they felt it is better for them to be independent. Notre Dame, well no explanation needed. Boise would be the best choice with Houston to round it off

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The PAC 10 did not want BYU because of their church affiliation. BYU would have gladly gone to the PAC 10. When they chose Utah instead, and when the Big 12 picked up TCU, BYU determined that the Mountain West conference was no longer viable going forward and chose to go Independent.

BYU and Colorado State are their two best choices if they wanted to join the crowd with television networks.

Utah and Colorado are some of the faster growing states. BYU brings a growing national audience.

LCN said:

Without support and influence from the "power" conferences , receiving a waiver is pretty much a pipe dream .

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Make them play by the same rules as everyone else. No waiver.

They do not want to share their profits evenly and that is what got them in this mess. They do not want to add teams because it will dilute their profits.

LCN said:

They had better find a way to get back to 12 teams with a CCG before next season .

Possibilities ? I'm thinking any 2 from this group - Colorado St. , Boise St. , BYU and Cincinnati with Air Force , Rice and Houston as long shots .

Thoughts ?

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Man, that would be hilarious if Colorado State got in to the Big 12 while Colorado Buffs made the move to the Pac12. From this standpoint, I don't think CSU, BYU and Air Force would be interested. Houston would jump. Wonder if the Big 12 would be willing to talk to LSU? :biggrin2:

rgw said:

BYU and Colorado State are their two best choices if they wanted to join the crowd with television networks.

Utah and Colorado are some of the faster growing states. BYU brings a growing national audience.

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Sadly, no one watches college football here. The Broncos are their Crimson Tide . If anyone here watches college football, it's their out of state school like Alabama, Texas, Ohio State, etc. Only the people in Fort Collins care about CSU otherwise, the natives only watch the Buffs if anything cfb-related.