Big 12 BoD authorizes Bowlsby to gather information on expansion

Big 12 expansion is far from dead.

Conference commissioner Bob Bowlsby announced during a teleconference on Tuesday that the Board of Directors had given him the go-ahead to research the schools that had contacted the conference about membership.

There was no set timetable announced for decisions on expansion, although Bowlsby did say that it was possible by the 2017 football season.

It is also unclear how many teams the conference will look to add, but the possibility of up to four was mentioned by Oklahoma president David Boren.

A conference network was also a hot topic during the Board of Directors meeting after it was announced that the ACC’s network would be fully launched by 2019. It also seems as though yesterday’s announcement was a driving factor in getting some schools off the fence about the topic.

The conference was also given an update on the situation at Baylor, and decided not to place any further sanctions on the school.

Stay tuned to Cyclone Fanatic for more on this developing story.

Jared Stansbury

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Jared a native of Clarinda, Iowa, started as the Cyclone Fanatic intern in August 2013, primarily working as a videographer until starting on the women’s basketball beat prior to the 2014-15 season. Upon earning his Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from Iowa State in May 2016, Jared was hired as the site’s full-time staff writer, taking over as the primary day-to-day reporter on football and men’s basketball. He was elevated to the position of managing editor in January 2020. He is a regular contributor on 1460 KXNO in Des Moines and makes regular guest appearances on radio stations across the Midwest. Jared resides in Ankeny with his four-year-old puggle, Lolo.

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