Memphis Potential BIG12 Expansion Candidate?
- Thread starter isu2014
- Start date
I've said it in other threads, I'll say it again - now that the NCAA has decided conferences can have championship games with 10 members and we just got done having one for the first time in years, there is zero reason for the Big 12 to rush into expanding to 12, 14, or 16 teams. As far as I'm concerned, the Big 12 shouldn't even consider expansion until we know what the TV landscape is in the early 2020s. Schools could very well want out of the Pac 12, ACC, or even SEC by then (there's always rumblings about Arizona, ASU, LSU, Arkansas, FSU, and Clemson). If any of those schools get serious about leaving their conferences when TV contracts are set to expire, is it really a great idea to fill up the conference with lesser schools now? However, if it turns out the superconference is the model of the future and the Big 12 does need to expand, schools like Memphis, UCF, USF, Houston, and CSU are always going to be there for the Big 12 to pilfer.
There is absolutely no reason be on board with expansion now other than to foolishly soothe one's own panic attack about being left out.
There is absolutely no reason be on board with expansion now other than to foolishly soothe one's own panic attack about being left out.
NO EXPANSION...I love playing everyone ... every year.
Why water down a conference with real rivals to get some 'ehhh' additions?
Why water down a conference with real rivals to get some 'ehhh' additions?
I think the national pundits are finally being forced to acknowledge that our system is the toughest in the nation. The B1G finally got left out (thanks Hawks!) of the CFP and the Pac was an afterthought. The one program in the big 12 that loves to flirt with leaving, OU, is having a great season. UT & OU have every reason to keep the big 12 together as a ten team league.
About that conference name though...
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Let me clarify a few things:
I wasn't saying the Big 12 SHOULD expand currently. I was simply researching Memphis a bit, and I began to think that they might not be a bad choice SHOULD the conference decide to expand.
I wasn't saying the Big 12 SHOULD expand currently. I was simply researching Memphis a bit, and I began to think that they might not be a bad choice SHOULD the conference decide to expand.
Why not? What makes them terrible as a candidate? I'm just trying to open the discussion, but it seems like a lot of you would completely dismiss a team like Memphis without actually putting any thought in it. I'm also not trying to ask if the Big 12 SHOULD expand, this is just a hypothetical candidate if they do choose to. Sorry if my original post wasn't clear enough.
Yeah...we should have a name without numbers, though. I don't know if the Big 10 would like changing their name at all, and "The Other 10" doesn't have a ring to it.
No, I thought it'd be an interesting discussion. Personally, if the Big 12 can survive with 10 then leave it alone. If it is determined that, in order to survive as a P5, we need to expand...I was simply thinking Memphis actually had a decent amount to offer. I guess I don't know how many TV screens they lay claim to though...
One thing that is really overlooked about the Pac and B1G being left out is that they also have gone to 9 conference games. The committee did not penalize the SEC for only playing 8 conference games. Instead they rewarded them.
True, the SEC propaganda machine is a whole separate conversation. But I did hear some criticism of Alabama's Mercer game.
They didn’t really reward them imo, they just went with the biggest brand that didn’t have a shitstain like OSU’s Iowa loss.
Imo It’s all about the brand of the programs, not the conference affiliation. A one loss Big 12 champ TCU with a victory against OSU is not getting in over Bama, OSU, Clemson and Georgia.
I think the best option for an expansion team is North Dakota State. Now I understand that it's a big jump from FCS to a power five conference but you have to look at the whole picture. First of all, as far as football goes, NDSU is very good. Winning 5 consecutive FCS championships, NDSU has shown extreme talent in football and I think they're ready for the next step. Again, I understand teams like Oklahoma, TCU, and Iowa State are completely different monsters, but you have to remember they have already beaten teams like Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Iowa State, and Kansas State. Aside from football you have to remember that an expansion school includes all other sports as well. NDSU baseball went 31-25 in 2017, the basketball team went 19-11, cross country finished 2nd in their conference this season, golf was 5th in their conference, and went 14-5 in wrestling, a sport in which they are already Big 12 affiliates (came in. In fact, NDSU is already a Big 12 wrestling affiliate team. Finally, the location. Iowa State is currently the only relatively north member, and 6 of the members come from Oklahoma and Texas alone. The Big 12 made it clear that they are not opposed to expanding to new markets when they added West Virginia, a school that isn't close to any other member of the conference. Adding West Virginia created a new market out east and so far it has proven to work. NDSU would help open the northern market and would be far closer to other schools than West Virginia is (NDSU to ISU is only 6.5 hours while WVU to ISU is closer to 12). In the end, of all the none power 5 teams, North Dakota State is the best option for the Big 12 as a whole. This may be different if power 5 team is looking for new options or maybe is so bad they get booted out of their conference. I could see Missouri, ASU, or maybe even an Illinois being a good fit, but as of now I see those teams staying put, making North Dakota State the best available option.
Sure. But they also had 1 less game against a conference opponent in which to get a bad loss. As a whole the conference basically gets an extra 6 or 7 wins out of only playing 8 conference games.
But also one less game to get a good win, which was working against them as much as it helped them.
No available teams increase the market outside of BYU...and they have their own issues. No one likes it but it’s all about money. Need large state schools. Better to wait and hope PAC breaks or Ark/LSU get unhappy enough.
2016 TV data (http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-r...5-million-unique-devices-streamed-espn-games/):
Rank Local Rating Market
1 7.4 Birmingham
2 6.7 Columbus
3 4.9 Dayton
4 4.7 Greenville
5 3.9 Cleveland
6 3.8 Knoxville
7 3.7 Nashville
8 3.6 Detroit
9 3.6 Oklahoma City
10 3.6 Atlanta
11 3.5 Louisville
12 3.4 Tulsa
13 3.4 New Orleans
14 3.3 Austin
15 3.2 Memphis
