Oklahoma, Texas are leaving the Big 12 Conference; More Teams May Follow
The Big 12 Conference is slowly being destroyed from the inside, and this exodus from Oklahoma and Texas is surely going to hurt them in the long run.
Oklahoma and Texas are the two biggest names in the BIG 12 conference, and losing them will do damage to the brand and revenue for the conference. As of right now, there are plans to add 4 more teams to the conference to make up for the fact that they are losing those two powerhouse universities.
Where Are They Going?
That’s the question, isn’t it? Well, they are heading to the SEC, and it could be happening sooner rather than later. There are already talks about adding Oklahoma and Texas to the conference schedule this season and recalibrating the divisions within the SEC. It is expected, however, that they will join in 2022. The alignment changes that would make the most sense are to add Oklahoma and Texas into the ‘West’ division and moving Auburn and Alabama into the ‘East’ Division.
This conference alignment makes the most sense because of geography and how they want to preserve that throughout the conference. Of course, there could be a totally different method about going about this realignment, but as of right now, this is the one that makes the most sense going forward.
Now, this move is not set in stone, however. The SEC requires that 11 out of the current 14 teams vote yes to accept these two teams into the conference, which is up in the air. This move will not only split the revenue from the SEC, even more, giving teams less than they are receiving right now. But it will also add more teams to the schedule and create an even messier season for SEC teams. The competition will rise but at the cost of profit for universities.
What Does This Mean for the Big 12?
Well, they are kinda screwed. All of the other teams will lose a ton of revenue because of Oklahoma and Texas leaving. But this creates the opportunity to either add more teams from Independence and Group of 5 conferences or dissolve the entire conference.
There have been rumors circulating that the next big move for the Big 12 will be adding Cincinnati, Houston, UCF, and/or BYU. But I highly doubt that will actually happen. The most likely scenario is that the rest of the Big 12 will be phased out, and there will be 4 super conferences rather than 5 conferences.
The Big 12 Conference is slowly being destroyed from the inside, and this exodus from Oklahoma and Texas is surely going to hurt them in the long run.Possible Landing Spots for the Rest of the Big 12?
I won’t go too in-depth with why I have these teams going into these conferences because I think they make the most sense geographically speaking. It reduces travel and keeps conferences fairly close together rather than cross country games.
Big 10: Add Kansas and Iowa State
Iowa State makes the most sense since the Iowa Hawkeyes already are in the Big 10 and would create an even better rivalry. Kansas is right below Nebraska and is only about an hour-long drive apart.
Pac 12: Add Texas Tech, Baylor, Kansas State, Oklahoma State
If we are going to balance out the conferences, the Pac 12 could use 4 teams. All four of these teams are fairly close to each other and would be safe travel bets for the other teams across the conference.
ACC: Add West Virginia
WVU is really the only team that fits perfectly in with the ACC, especially since there are already 2 Virginia teams. Adding WVU would be a great rivalry.
Realistically speaking, this move from Oklahoma and Texas could start something really special for college football going into the future. With the possibility of expanding the college football playoffs as well, this will create so many interesting new rivalries and really boost college football viewership and make dynasties impossible.
