Williams & Blum: UConn and the Big 12? ISU adds at DT via the portal

[Cyinthenorth]

The problem with UConn is that the B12 prematurely and unnecessarily expanded with Houston and UCF. Too late now to kick both out in favor of better alternatives in UConn and San Diego St.

And it is also highly unfortunate that commuter/directional schools like Houston and UCF will be unnecessarily elevated at the potential expense of Oregon St and Wazzu.

And I hope like hell the B12's only near term expansion involves PAC schools only. UH and UCF are unnecessary extra mouths to feed and the conference doesn't need any more existing G5 schools or BB only schools.

Houston is a geographic fit at least.

Absolutely don't love having UCF in the conference. Hindsight being what it is, had all this shifting been delayed by a year or two, I doubt they get an invite.

 

[Cyinthenorth]

I am not arguing on behalf of Oregon State, although I'd love to see them in the Big 12, but the entire west side of Reser Stadium was closed for renovations last year, half the stadium, so the 26K they drew was a bit misleading. They still only averaged about 35K in past years when the entire stadium was open for seating.

I'd welcome Oregon St and Washington St with open arms. I sympathetize with those schools and their fan bases, because they are the Iowa State's of the PAC. They may even be worse off than us due to geography, as there really isn't a logical P5ish landing spot for them when the PAC crumbles. I feel similarly about the Boston College's and Georgia Tech's of the world. Historically P5 schools that could likely get left out in the cold once all the dust settles

 

[CentexCyclone]

UConn is never gonna be an add to the Big12. However, they are useful as a stalking horse for real adds, and to keep the news cycle on the Big12.

Only way anything actually happens involving UConn is a bball only mega-league/association of some kind, including all of the BigEast, Zags, etc.

This take seems legit. UConn b-ball Re-emerged when it came back to the Big East. I like the idea of UConn to the Big 12 and the media discussion, it why would they leave the Big East?

 

[alarson]

@ChrisMWilliams finally got to listening to this last night. At the end you were asking why Gonzaga should join the big 12 rather than just winning every year in their existing conference.

To me, the easy answer is that it hedges things from a business perspective. No matter what happens going forward, they gain a seat at the table in the best basketball conference in the country. If they stay where they are and fall off after Few retires, they become irrelevant. They'll remain relevant if they move to the big 12, and being in the big 12 may even help them sustain that relevance as it may up their recruiting floor as well.

The bigger question for the big 12 is whether the risk for the big 12 is worth it. Gonzaga could easily fall off after Few retires and be an anchor on the conference.

 

[acoustimac]

I assume it was podcast highlights, not full transcript? Just curious.

I've said in the past I'd be willing to do a roundup like that for CF podcasts, if there was any budget for it. I think it'd be useful.

Exactly…just the key talking points.