Maryland may actually be leaving the ACC

[EagleDave]

1) BYU

if BC participated in similar reverse auction for ACC membership, Leahy would use it as an excuse to run the program at 1-AA levels, and we'd become institutional dormats and laughing stock for the media.

I laughed at this. I hope it was unintentional on your part.

Also, the Big 12 doesn't play MBB games on Sundays. Women do occasionally.

[eagle33]

BC taken to task (again) but I don't follow what point the guy is trying to make.

http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/news/big-12-teams-expansion-houston-byu-texas-oklahoma-bob-bowlsby/gy2wf4lgm6ku12um3huuw72kc

[claver2010]

seems like the $$ isn't exactly on board with the Big 8 / 12/ 10 expanding...

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Jour ... 12-TV.aspx

The Big 12’s TV partners are pushing back on the conference’s plans to expand.

ESPN and Fox Sports believe that expansion with schools from outside the power five conferences will water down the Big 12 and make it less valuable, not more, sources said. But the Big 12 is financially motivated to add more teams. A clause in the conference’s media deals stipulate that if the Big 12 expands, it would receive pro rata increases in its rights fees.

The original deals pay $2.6 billion over 13 years, or about $20 million per school annually. Expansion by two schools, theoretically, would force ESPN and Fox combined to pay an additional $40 million per year in rights fees. Expansion by four teams could mean another $80 million per year.

Both networks, according to sources, are digging their heels in against paying those kinds of increases based on expansion with schools outside the power five.

[HJS]

seems like the $$ isn't exactly on board with the Big 8 / 12/ 10 expanding...

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Jour ... 12-TV.aspx

The Big 12’s TV partners are pushing back on the conference’s plans to expand.

ESPN and Fox Sports believe that expansion with schools from outside the power five conferences will water down the Big 12 and make it less valuable, not more, sources said. But the Big 12 is financially motivated to add more teams. A clause in the conference’s media deals stipulate that if the Big 12 expands, it would receive pro rata increases in its rights fees.

The original deals pay $2.6 billion over 13 years, or about $20 million per school annually. Expansion by two schools, theoretically, would force ESPN and Fox combined to pay an additional $40 million per year in rights fees. Expansion by four teams could mean another $80 million per year.

Both networks, according to sources, are digging their heels in against paying those kinds of increases based on expansion with schools outside the power five.

This somewhat follows what was posted earlier about the new schools taking less money. This would mean that while the conference could make potentially an additional $80mm per year, the additional split would be something like have that... meaning $4mm per existing team (or all going to Texas and Oklahoma to convince them not to leave). If this is truly the play, it just means that the B12 is trying to milk every dollar before the whole thing gets picked apart by the P12, SEC and B10.

[Eaglekeeper]

It does make sense given the financial problems at ESPN. They made a huge mistake by giving Texas the Longhorn Network thereby at least delaying the formation of 4, 16 team conferences. Even at 20 million per year, 8 of the 10 Big 12 teams can get more money by joining the PAC 12, B1G and the SEC. It will be interesting to see if Fox & ESPN can broker the final round of expansion and get to 4 super conferences.

[dtwalrus]

seems like the $$ isn't exactly on board with the Big 8 / 12/ 10 expanding...

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Jour ... 12-TV.aspx

The Big 12’s TV partners are pushing back on the conference’s plans to expand.

ESPN and Fox Sports believe that expansion with schools from outside the power five conferences will water down the Big 12 and make it less valuable, not more, sources said. But the Big 12 is financially motivated to add more teams. A clause in the conference’s media deals stipulate that if the Big 12 expands, it would receive pro rata increases in its rights fees.

The original deals pay $2.6 billion over 13 years, or about $20 million per school annually. Expansion by two schools, theoretically, would force ESPN and Fox combined to pay an additional $40 million per year in rights fees. Expansion by four teams could mean another $80 million per year.

Both networks, according to sources, are digging their heels in against paying those kinds of increases based on expansion with schools outside the power five.

This somewhat follows what was posted earlier about the new schools taking less money. This would mean that while the conference could make potentially an additional $80mm per year, the additional split would be something like have that... meaning $4mm per existing team (or all going to Texas and Oklahoma to convince them not to leave). If this is truly the play, it just means that the B12 is trying to milk every dollar before the whole thing gets picked apart by the P12, SEC and B10.

This is very savvy by the Big 12, especially OU and Texas who are exploring other options.
1) Add 4 teams for a pro-rata increase of $80m per year from ESPN.
2) Give those 4 new teams significantly reduced shares (25-50%) in first 8-10 years of membership (until GOR ends in 2026).
3) $40-$60m of pro-rata increase goes to existing ten Big12 teams, for a pay bump of $4-$6m per year each.
4) Don't include any additional extension of GOR in current expansion.
5) In 2026 when current GOR ends and new expansion teams are scheduled to receive full shares, OU, Texas and any of the other baby rapists can leave for greener pastures.

Because the G5 teams are so desperate for a taste of P5, they're so willing to take massive payout cuts. This is a total con by the Big12 and ESPN and Fox should be upset about it, especially if it's teams like Memphis, Cincinatti and Houston who are added, all of whom bring no new markets to ESPN and Fox. With that said, should've thought of that when you signed the contract...

Speculation for the last 24 hours that ESPN and Fox would rather just pay the current ten Big12 teams more to avoid expansion and avoid the pro-rata increase. And just when we were so close to once-and-for-all closing the door on the conference realignment on the Boneyard....

[claver2010]

seeing these schools struggle over which midget to invite to dead conference walking is amazing

[innocentbystander]

seems like the $$ isn't exactly on board with the Big 8 / 12/ 10 expanding...

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Jour ... 12-TV.aspx

The Big 12’s TV partners are pushing back on the conference’s plans to expand.

ESPN and Fox Sports believe that expansion with schools from outside the power five conferences will water down the Big 12 and make it less valuable, not more, sources said. But the Big 12 is financially motivated to add more teams. A clause in the conference’s media deals stipulate that if the Big 12 expands, it would receive pro rata increases in its rights fees.

The original deals pay $2.6 billion over 13 years, or about $20 million per school annually. Expansion by two schools, theoretically, would force ESPN and Fox combined to pay an additional $40 million per year in rights fees. Expansion by four teams could mean another $80 million per year.

Both networks, according to sources, are digging their heels in against paying those kinds of increases based on expansion with schools outside the power five.

This somewhat follows what was posted earlier about the new schools taking less money. This would mean that while the conference could make potentially an additional $80mm per year, the additional split would be something like have that... meaning $4mm per existing team (or all going to Texas and Oklahoma to convince them not to leave). If this is truly the play, it just means that the B12 is trying to milk every dollar before the whole thing gets picked apart by the P12, SEC and B10.

This is very savvy by the Big 12, especially OU and Texas who are exploring other options.
1) Add 4 teams for a pro-rata increase of $80m per year from ESPN.
2) Give those 4 new teams significantly reduced shares (25-50%) in first 8-10 years of membership (until GOR ends in 2026).
3) $40-$60m of pro-rata increase goes to existing ten Big12 teams, for a pay bump of $4-$6m per year each.
4) Don't include any additional extension of GOR in current expansion.
5) In 2026 when current GOR ends and new expansion teams are scheduled to receive full shares, OU, Texas and any of the other baby rapists can leave for greener pastures.

Because the G5 teams are so desperate for a taste of P5, they're so willing to take massive payout cuts. This is a total con by the Big12 and ESPN and Fox should be upset about it, especially if it's teams like Memphis, Cincinatti and Houston who are added, all of whom bring no new markets to ESPN and Fox. With that said, should've thought of that when you signed the contract...

Speculation for the last 24 hours that ESPN and Fox would rather just pay the current ten Big12 teams more to avoid expansion and avoid the pro-rata increase. And just when we were so close to once-and-for-all closing the door on the conference realignment on the Boneyard....

BYU and Boise State would both be willing to take whatever brutally unfair financial deal Texas cuts with them to join the Big-XII so they would at least get to XII again. I think (in the short term) that should be the main focus for Texas. Build a 12 team conference, split North vs South (K-State, Kansas, WVa, Iowa State, BSU, and BYU in the North, Oklahoma, OK-State, Texas Tech, Texas, Baylor, and TCU in the South.) Get the Conference championship game again (play it anywhere, play it at Jerry World even.) Pull in the extra $18 million for that one game. And then... hold position to see which of the other Power 5 conferences make the jump to 16. None have done that yet.

There is only going to be 4 chairs at the 16 team super conference table. The ACC really needs to be the first conference to 16 if they want to survive since they are the odd man out. If the ACC wanted to be the "first" and they wanted to think outside the box, then they should bend over and take it right in the rear for Notre Dame. Tell them they will expand to 16 and take them AND take "Navy" with them. Split North-vs-South, (Notre Dame, BC, Pitt, UVa, VPI, Louisville, Syracuse, Navy in the North, The state of North Carolina, Clemson, Georgia Tech, and the state of Florida in the South.) Tell Notre Dame that they can keep playing Michigan, Michigan State, USC, and Stanford (forever) as the ACC will promise NEVER to go to a 9 game ACC schedule (North and South play just one game crossing divisions.) And Notre Dame gets everything they want since the keep their entire schedule intact. If they say "no" then instantly poach WVa and K-State from the Little-XII.

[claver2010]

There is only going to be 4 chairs at the 16 team super conference table. The ACC really needs to be the first conference to 16 if they want to survive since they are the odd man out.

no

if anything, these last 6 months have proved this to not be the case at all

[dtwalrus]

There is only going to be 4 chairs at the 16 team super conference table. The ACC really needs to be the first conference to 16 if they want to survive since they are the odd man out.

no

if anything, these last 6 months have proved this to not be the case at all

I agree.

First of all, there's clearly no rush for 16. I think the BIG and the ACC are waiting on ND (who is waiting for more of a sample size to determine the effect of the playoffs on its independence) and the SEC and Pac 12 see no need to be the first ones to make a move.

More so, whenever it does happen, I think the recent ACC Network deal guarantees the ACC won't get left behind in any move to 16 any time soon. Quite simply, there's no way ND gets left out of a 4x16 top tier, and now if 4x16 happens before 2035, ND will be #15 in the ACC.

The Big 12 is on the outside looking in. First of all, unless they can pull another P5 school, which seems really unlikely now that the ACC has shut it's doors, any 16-team conference it can form is going to be cobbled together from some really slim pickings. Sure, you get BYU. But after that who are the other 5 teams the Big 12 is grabbing? Cincinnati, Memphis, Houston, UConn, Tulane, UCF, USF... The Big 12 would be half AAC. Which means that when the BIG, SEC and Pac 12 come looking for 2/4 more to round out to 16, teams like Texas and Oklahoma are going to be really, really tempted to head elsewhere. The Big 12 will fold. The good news is that in that scenario we can grab WVU as #16 instead of UConn.

Pac 16: Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State (staying together as a block) and maybe BYU.
SEC: Texas Tech and Baylor/TCU (SEC trying to dominate Texas)
Big: Kansas and Iowa State (AAU and Iowa politicians close the deal for Iowa State)
ACC: ND and WVU

Leftovers: Kansas State and Baylor/TCU.

[EagleDave]

There is only going to be 4 chairs at the 16 team super conference table. The ACC really needs to be the first conference to 16 if they want to survive since they are the odd man out.

no

if anything, these last 6 months have proved this to not be the case at all

I agree.

First of all, there's clearly no rush for 16. I think the BIG and the ACC are waiting on ND (who is waiting for more of a sample size to determine the effect of the playoffs on its independence) and the SEC and Pac 12 see no need to be the first ones to make a move.

More so, whenever it does happen, I think the recent ACC Network deal guarantees the ACC won't get left behind in any move to 16 any time soon. Quite simply, there's no way ND gets left out of a 4x16 top tier, and now if 4x16 happens before 2035, ND will be #15 in the ACC.

The Big 12 is on the outside looking in. First of all, unless they can pull another P5 school, which seems really unlikely now that the ACC has shut it's doors, any 16-team conference it can form is going to be cobbled together from some really slim pickings. Sure, you get BYU. But after that who are the other 5 teams the Big 12 is grabbing? Cincinnati, Memphis, Houston, UConn, Tulane, UCF, USF... The Big 12 would be half AAC. Which means that when the BIG, SEC and Pac 12 come looking for 2/4 more to round out to 16, teams like Texas and Oklahoma are going to be really, really tempted to head elsewhere. The Big 12 will fold. The good news is that in that scenario we can grab WVU as #16 instead of UConn.

Pac 16: Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State (staying together as a block) and maybe BYU.
SEC: Texas Tech and Baylor/TCU (SEC trying to dominate Texas)
Big: Kansas and Iowa State (AAU and Iowa politicians close the deal for Iowa State)
ACC: ND and WVU

Leftovers: Kansas State and Baylor/TCU.

A lot of this is assuming the ACC Network is some grand success, which I think is a HIGHLY dubious proposition given ESPN's continuing subscriber woes and the related inevitable collapse of the cable cabal as a whole.

How fast/soon it collapses on it self will help determine whether it's the ACC or the Big 12 that gets left in the dust.

[Eaglekeeper]

With the GOR for another 20 years, the ACC is going to remain. Big 12 teams can get better deals now in the PAC 12, B1G & SEC. We better hope the network is a huge success given our lack of financial committement to our programs

[eagle9903]

With the GOR for another 20 years, the ACC is going to remain. Big 12 teams can get better deals now in the PAC 12, B1G & SEC. We better hope the network is a huge success given our lack of financial committement to our programs

Wut?

[claver2010]

not that anyone cares what i think but my guess is it'll end up being natti light and houston

think byu is the best program of anyone available but b12 won't want to deal with all the headaches they bring

[TobaccoRoadEagle]

With the GOR for another 20 years, the ACC is going to remain. Big 12 teams can get better deals now in the PAC 12, B1G & SEC. We better hope the network is a huge success given our lack of financial committement to our programs

Wut?

with the new deal that espn signed with the acc that guarantees revenues to the conference for an additional 20 years (and is nothing at all like social security because espn will clearly keep making the profits they have been over the last 20 years based on their very stable business model and their customers carte blanche acceptance of the espn products and its prices so we know espn will totally be good for it) no one in their right mind would leave the conference as it stands. other conferences looking to expand will have to poach from conferences other than acc because of this rock solididity

cornerkeeper hopes that the network achieves this totally reachable level of success in spite of the fact that leahy refuses to fill in the corners with the money that's been permanently endowed to the university for purposes of academic pursuit (which leahy totally should do because athletic success should always come before the non-profit classification of the school. they'll be making so much money off the empty seats in the corners, it will be a pittance for the university to pay taxes).

i've been reading a lot of nospace this week so my brain is more in tune with retard

[Eaglekeeper]

Your whole scenario is flawed based on ESPN failing. If that happens every conference is getting less money except the PAC 12. It does mean that any conference will break up. A couple of teams will shift to the B1G and PAC 12, but they are most likely to come from the Big 12. Fox will not pay as much on their renewals with no competition.

All of this nonsense that BC cannot afford and should not invest in athletic facilities makes BC look like the little brother of ND. Raise the money, build the facilities and STFU!

[eagle33]

All of this nonsense that BC cannot afford and should not invest in athletic facilities makes BC look like the little brother of ND. Raise the money, build the facilities and STFU!

I actually agree with this. BC needs to shit or get off the pot with facilities. More importantly we need to do the same with the next AD hire or nothing will ever change. If the Bates contract is renewed or extended I'm done with BC.

[EagleDave]

Your whole scenario is flawed based on ESPN failing. If that happens every conference is getting less money except the PAC 12. It does mean that any conference will break up. A couple of teams will shift to the B1G and PAC 12, but they are most likely to come from the Big 12. Fox will not pay as much on their renewals with no competition.

All of this nonsense that BC cannot afford and should not invest in athletic facilities makes BC look like the little brother of ND. Raise the money, build the facilities and STFU!

The B1G and the SEC won't lose as much revenue when, not if, ESPN's business model collapses in on it self like a dying star (1+ million subscriber losses this year alone). They both have the rabid fanbases that gobble up the programming that their respective cable channels provide, so those will continue to be moneymakers for whatever ESPN is when this all begins to happen, likely around the time they renegotiate their deal with the NFL. ESPN may not be able to pay them as much, but they'll still pay.

The ACC on the other hand does not have nearly the thirst for that kind of 24/7 programming, so the idea that they'll get it into a ton of homes is laughably naive. There's almost no chance the ACC Network will be anything but a financial loser, which could result in ESPN looking to re-negotiate (again). Even with the GOR extension, I wouldn't be surprised to see Florida State and Clemson start exploring ways to worm their way out and into the SEC, who would be waiting with open arms. If they look around and see the leagues cash flow shrinking because of schools like Wake, Pitt and BC, they'll look for a way out. If they bail, others will too and that'll be the end of it.

That's not to say the ACC isn't at an advantage against the Big 12, because they are. But the league is staking its stability on a formula within a medium that absolutely will not exist in its present state when the Big 12 goes back to the table on its TV deal.

[claver2010]

did hijack your account?

[Eaglekeeper]

SEC is already in Florida and South Carolina. If ESPN shrinks and that is the way they are headed, each conference will get less and I agree the SEC and B1G will take less of a haircut than the ACC. Big 12 has a small footprint and a lot more problems than the ACC. Remember, hoops is big in the ACC and many fans will buy the cable package to get ACC hoops.

Absolutely no doubt that any team that continues to shit the bed could easily find themselves in trouble of losing equal revenue sharing. BC has the Boston market and a lousy BC sports program is hurting the entire ACC. It's the largest TV market and BC needs to be at the top of the conference for the ACC to fully capitalize on that market. Quality still fucking matters!

[innocentbystander]

BC has the Boston market and a lousy BC sports program is hurting the entire ACC. It's the largest TV market and BC needs to be at the top of the conference for the ACC to fully capitalize on that market.

Boston is a college town with a pro-sports tv market.

Quality still fucking matters!

So does the overall size of your living alumni base that cares about football or hoop.

[Eaglekeeper]

BC had a sizable sidewalk alumni following. BC hockey draws one of the highest attendance going up against much larger state universities especially when compared to tOSU. If BC had a good program with reasonably priced parking and tailgating they could easily sell out.You do need a strong season ticket base to travel well. That is why BC struggles getting fans to bowl games and now the Ireland game. Season tickets are critical to the success of the program.

[DavidGordonsFoot]

BC has the Boston market and a lousy BC sports program is hurting the entire ACC. It's the largest TV market and BC needs to be at the top of the conference for the ACC to fully capitalize on that market.

For the 10,000th time, BC football TV ratings have been solid despite the crappy product.

[EagleDave]

SEC is already in Florida and South Carolina. If ESPN shrinks and that is the way they are headed, each conference will get less and I agree the SEC and B1G will take less of a haircut than the ACC. Big 12 has a small footprint and a lot more problems than the ACC. Remember, hoops is big in the ACC and many fans will buy the cable package to get ACC hoops.

Absolutely no doubt that any team that continues to shit the bed could easily find themselves in trouble of losing equal revenue sharing. BC has the Boston market and a lousy BC sports program is hurting the entire ACC. It's the largest TV market and BC needs to be at the top of the conference for the ACC to fully capitalize on that market. Quality still fucking matters!

You're still thinking about this from the standpoint of the traditional cable model. The "markets" won't matter when the cable tier subscriber model goes away. The ala carte or individual online subscription model that will take its place means the ONLY thing that will matter is how big/passionate your fanbase is since it'll be individual fans deciding whether to subscribe to their respective conference networks.

When the ACC Network is forced into the ala carte mode, they won't have the fanbases to support it and it'll cease to be financially viable for ESPN (which is rapidly becoming an albatross in the Disney portfolio). At that point, the schools with enough juice to be attractive additions to either the B1G/SEC Networks (FSU, Clemson, maybe Louisville) will start looking for a way out, which would trigger the end of the ACC as we know it.

[eepstein0]

BC had a sizable sidewalk alumni following. BC hockey draws one of the highest attendance going up against much larger state universities especially when compared to tOSU. If BC had a good program with reasonably priced parking and tailgating they could easily sell out.You do need a strong season ticket base to travel well. That is why BC struggles getting fans to bowl games and now the Ireland game. Season tickets are critical to the success of the program.

You're correct that the ticket prices and parking prices need to be fixed.

[twballgame9]

SEC is already in Florida and South Carolina. If ESPN shrinks and that is the way they are headed, each conference will get less and I agree the SEC and B1G will take less of a haircut than the ACC. Big 12 has a small footprint and a lot more problems than the ACC. Remember, hoops is big in the ACC and many fans will buy the cable package to get ACC hoops.

Absolutely no doubt that any team that continues to shit the bed could easily find themselves in trouble of losing equal revenue sharing. BC has the Boston market and a lousy BC sports program is hurting the entire ACC. It's the largest TV market and BC needs to be at the top of the conference for the ACC to fully capitalize on that market. Quality still fucking matters!

You're still thinking about this from the standpoint of the traditional cable model. The "markets" won't matter when the cable tier subscriber model goes away. The ala carte or individual online subscription model that will take its place means the ONLY thing that will matter is how big/passionate your fanbase is since it'll be individual fans deciding whether to subscribe to their respective conference networks.

When the ACC Network is forced into the ala carte mode, they won't have the fanbases to support it and it'll cease to be financially viable for ESPN (which is rapidly becoming an albatross in the Disney portfolio). At that point, the schools with enough juice to be attractive additions to either the B1G/SEC Networks (FSU, Clemson, maybe Louisville) will start looking for a way out, which would trigger the end of the ACC as we know it.

You can't have ESPN collapsing and a la carte sports in the same model. Without ESPN, there is no one to cover most of the sports covered today.

[EagleDave]

SEC is already in Florida and South Carolina. If ESPN shrinks and that is the way they are headed, each conference will get less and I agree the SEC and B1G will take less of a haircut than the ACC. Big 12 has a small footprint and a lot more problems than the ACC. Remember, hoops is big in the ACC and many fans will buy the cable package to get ACC hoops.

Absolutely no doubt that any team that continues to shit the bed could easily find themselves in trouble of losing equal revenue sharing. BC has the Boston market and a lousy BC sports program is hurting the entire ACC. It's the largest TV market and BC needs to be at the top of the conference for the ACC to fully capitalize on that market. Quality still fucking matters!

You're still thinking about this from the standpoint of the traditional cable model. The "markets" won't matter when the cable tier subscriber model goes away. The ala carte or individual online subscription model that will take its place means the ONLY thing that will matter is how big/passionate your fanbase is since it'll be individual fans deciding whether to subscribe to their respective conference networks.

When the ACC Network is forced into the ala carte mode, they won't have the fanbases to support it and it'll cease to be financially viable for ESPN (which is rapidly becoming an albatross in the Disney portfolio). At that point, the schools with enough juice to be attractive additions to either the B1G/SEC Networks (FSU, Clemson, maybe Louisville) will start looking for a way out, which would trigger the end of the ACC as we know it.

You can't have ESPN collapsing and a la carte sports in the same model. Without ESPN, there is no one to cover most of the sports covered today.

ESPN will still exist, the exorbitant rights fees that we've seen doled out in recent years won't. This isn't just a college sports problem either. The NFL and the NBA will both be taking reduced deals or ESPN will simply pass on bidding for them next time around.

The end game down the road is that the pro leagues and the conferences within the NCAA end up distributing the games themselves primarily via streaming apps, though the SEC & B1G Networks will continue to exist in a reduced state because, again, their schools will still demand that 24/7 content.

[DavidGordonsFoot]

BC had a sizable sidewalk alumni following. BC hockey draws one of the highest attendance going up against much larger state universities especially when compared to tOSU. If BC had a good program with reasonably priced parking and tailgating they could easily sell out.You do need a strong season ticket base to travel well. That is why BC struggles getting fans to bowl games and now the Ireland game. Season tickets are critical to the success of the program.

You're correct that the ticket prices and parking prices need to be fixed.

Is there really that much more they can do with the ticket prices? The EO section was buy one, get one free this year. $200 for two seats to six games... that's about $17 a ticket. They could loosen the DBS fees for the premium seats, but they don't seem to have a problem selling those seats as-is.

Parking is completely out of whack and definitely needs to be fixed, both Flynn Fund and non-Flynn Fund.

[Corporal Funishment]

I still think 20 years from now college football won't exist as it does today. I am very curious: board members with a kid in the 0-5 range, would you want your son playing football as he grows up? I'm pretty sure I've seen Tyler Rouse get concussed a half dozen times in his career and he's not going to make a cent playing football.

[HJS]

http://www.espn.com/college-football/st ... -expansion

B12 will interview SEVENTEEN teams to determine which (if any) they should acquire. 17 schools???? Seriously? If you don't have readymade targets, you shouldn't expand. That said, if I was Bowlsby and I knew it was highly unlikely that Texas and Oklahoma were not long for the conference (no matter what I did), I would expand the B12 by 16 schools. It assures critical mass should you be otherwise poached out of existance.