Is Texas impacting other Big 12 schools’ possible expansion votes?
Nick Bromberg,Dr. Saturday
In-conference politicking going on in the Big 12?
We’re shocked.
According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Texas is “believed to be influencingTexas Tech’s and Texas Christian’s decisions to also be reluctant to expansion.”
Per the report, UT is using its pull because of the Big 12’s rules regarding expanding the conference. If the conference was to expand, there would need to be greater than 75 percent support for the idea. With 10 teams in the Big 12, that means eight yes votes would be needed and seven teams could vote yes on expansion without the three Texas schools.
Texas Tech has long fallen in line with Texas. Both are public universities that have been in the same league together since 1956, when they were in the Southwest Conference. Texas and Texas Tech were founding members of the Big 12 in 1996.
TCU is believed to be following Texas’ lead because the conference’s power broker reportedly helped the Horned Frogs get into the Big 12 four years ago.
The Enquirer has been following the possibility of Big 12 expansion for a while because the University of Cincinnati has been considered a major candidate for the Big 12 if the conference adds two more teams. The Bearcats would help bridge the geographical gap between the rest of the conference and West Virginia and would bring additional television markets that other Texas schools would not.
