Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby speaks to reporters during the NCAA College Football Big 12 Media Days July 14th in Arlington, Texas. The Athletic reported Friday morning that BYU is already the front runner in the Big 12 expansion. (LM Otero, Associated Press)
PROVO – In eight days’ time, real live college football will be back in BYU supporting households across the country.
But it’s not that day. This day is reserved for more reports on the reorientation of the conference, which are changing at the moment, and the Cougars are already at the forefront of expansion for the one power five league that is still interested in expanding its base.
The decision to expand and expand is still in its infancy, but The Athletic reported Friday morning that BYU was less than a day after a. the front runner in expanding the Big 12 is Pac-12 conference, which declined further expansion.
Texas Tech sporting director Kirby Hocutt told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal and other local media on Thursday that he was part of a subcommittee on Big 12 expansion that also included Baylor sporting director Mack Rhoades, the president of the state of Iowa , Wendy Wintersteen, and Kansas Chancellor Douglas Girod.
This group is interesting for BYU because it represents a cheap lot for the Cougars, whose most recent run in the Big 12 expansion in 2015 was partially dashed by a consortium of LGBTQ advocacy groups calling for the conference, which BYU owes to exclude from membership of their Code of Ethics guidelines which they said were breaking an inclusive community.
Hocutt said, “Right now our full focus is on making the Big 12 as strong as possible. And I anticipate Texas Tech will play a leading role in college athletics. We will continue to be proactive. “Https://t.co/AT9O1GZghS
– Don Williams (@AJ_DonWilliams) August 26, 2021
But half of the Big 12 board members have since been replaced, and Hocutt and Rhoades appear to be less hostile to BYU in general. The Cougars and Bears even have a home-and-home series scheduled for October 16 in Waco, Texas, followed by the second leg on September 10, 2022 in Provo.
“Right now, we are fully focused on making the Big 12 as strong as possible,” Hocutt told the newspaper’s Don Williams. “And I expect Texas Tech to play a leading role in that. We will continue to be part of the power five structure in college athletics. We will continue to be proactive. “
Hocutt declined to confirm how many schools have already contacted the Big 12 about membership – some reports have put the number at over a dozen. But the Red Raiders’ sporting director admitted there was interest in the league despite the upcoming Texas and Oklahoma departures.
“There is a lot of interest in the Big 12 Conference,” he said. “There is a great interest in people to be connected with us, to join us. We will take our time, be diligent and make sure we are making the right strategic decisions for the long term future.”
Hocutt on the interest of other schools in the Big 12 conference. pic.twitter.com/H5ZN8HcZsT
– David Collier (@CollieronTV) August 26, 2021
Interest in the cougars makes a lot of sense.
BYU’s place among the Big 12 non-Texas and Oklahoma schools seems obvious for a conference looking to bring in new media partners. The Cougars had an average of 1.64 million television viewers in 16 games on ABC, FOX and ESPN from 2015-19, compared to 1.786 million in 36 shows that featured the Leftover Eight schools.
Interestingly, in games broadcast on secondary channels like ESPN2 and Fox Sports 1, the Cougars outperformed the Big 12 with an average audience of 682,000, compared to 482,000. That suggests the Cougars have a more engaging fan base – one willing to seek BYU games on less than ideal networks other than ABC, FOX, or Prime ESPN – than schools like Oklahoma State, Iowa State, and TCU .
This is exactly the kind of school a league like the Big 12 should identify in a conference realignment cycle that is driven less by cable boxes and subscriptions and more by general brand awareness.
BYU trainer Kalani Sitake on the field during training in Provo on August 5th (Photo: Laura Seitz, Deseret News)
Part of the question over the summer, however, involved BYU’s interest in the Big 12 as well as vice versa. After all, without the Texas and Oklahoma ties that are expected to go to the Southeastern Conference when the league rights agreement expires in 2025 – if not sooner – the conference is significantly less stable.
But moving the Big 12 would also improve BYU’s earnings potential, an aggregate win number that sporting director Tom Holmoe has spoken openly about with local media in the past. When asked if the Cougars’ return to the Mountain West Conference was ever an option, the incumbent sports director cited finances and BYU’s exclusive television deal with ESPN as reasons why such a move made no sense.
The Cougars reported a total of $ 75 million in sports department revenue to the Department of Education in 2019, including a football rights contract with ESPN valued at between $ 6 million and $ 10 million (given that BYU is a private institution, there is for their total revenue limits). Coverage breakdown for things like TV contracts).
Big 12 members received approximately $ 28 million in media rights in 2020-21, if you believe Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby’s recent speech to the Texas Senate. But that number is likely to decline significantly without the Longhorns and Sooners – some have argued by as much as half per member school.
Still, adding BYU to the Big 12 makes sense for two other important reasons. As an independent FBS, the Cougars don’t have to worry about leaving another conference or worrying about things like exit fees and granting rights. You are essentially able to attend a conference at the behest of the school’s sponsoring institution, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, albeit likely with some input from ESPN.
The Worldwide Leader has included a language in its contract with BYU that allows flexibility in attending another conference, sources told KSL.com over the years. The same goes for the Cougars’ countless bowl contracts, which include a seat in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana in 2021 if BYU wins at least six games and does not receive a higher payout bowl (e.g. New Year’s Six or playoff bid ). ).
“I don’t think this will necessarily be a quick fix, but I think the decision will come quickly … it just makes too much sense for both parties” @BerryTramel joins #BYUSN to give his opinion on BYU today to share on the Big 12 reports. # GoCougspic.twitter.com/wsO4ParusS
– BYU Sports Nation (@BYUSportsNation) August 27, 2021
And while soccer is the most important – in many ways the only – driver of the current round of expansion, the Cougars also present the Big 12 with an attractive sports department and private institutions ended the 2020-21 season in 17th place in the Learfield Directors’ Cup. Rating, the third best result in school history. In five years from 2015, the Cougars average rank of # 30 nationally would rank second in the new Big 12 behind just Oklahoma state’s 24th, according to The Athletic.
But perhaps the most important reason BYU makes sense for the Big 12 has less to do with soccer and athletics in general. The conference board members have rotated so much that many of the problems raised in the past by BYU’s admission seem to be less lenient with the new group of executives.
As a source told The Athletic, “The people who didn’t want BYU before are leaving the conference.”
Oklahoma columnist Berry Tramel told BYUtv that a marriage between BYU and the Big 12 was likely, even if it wasn’t imminent. The Cougars could easily wait until 2025, or the year after Texas and Oklahoma joined the SEC to attend the conference.
“I don’t necessarily think it will be quick. The Big 12 are in no hurry because, to be honest, the Big 12 want to play the exodus of OU and Texas slowly, ”said Tramel. “They want Oklahoma and Texas to have four more seasons in the league to keep this television deal intact.
“They will play the long game. I think all talks with Brigham Young don’t need to be rushed.”
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