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UPDATE: It’s official - David Boren has confirmed during the BOR press conference that the Big 12 will not expand. He has also stated that the athletic directors are working on implementing a conference championship game. Finally, he stated that there will not be a conference network.
Original Post: SB Nation’s Steven Godfrey has confirmed that the Big 12 Conference will announce that conference expansion isn’t going to happen “at this time”. There has been speculation that this would be the move for some time now, but the revelation that BYU would be broadcasting the announcement on its network made many give it a second thought. However, it appears that initial suspicions were correct. The news was also reported by Chip Brown and Pete Thamel.
Can confirm that the Big 12 informed candidates there will be no expansion “at this time.” https://t.co/SrCeUMgkmL
— Steven Godfrey (@38Godfrey) October 17, 2016
Source: Big 12 decides not to expand conference (by @SIPeteThamel)https://t.co/VesMoNSgNu
— SI College Hoops (@si_ncaabb) October 17, 2016
No new members were added to the #Big12 during today's Big 12 Board of Directors meeting, multiple sources tell https://t.co/XBNn1ev7Ha.
— Chip Brown (@ChipBrownHD) October 17, 2016
A report from SI’s Pete Thamel a few days ago indicated that this was a play for more TV money from ESPN and Fox all along. If that is indeed the case, props to David Boren. However, from purely a fan’s perspective, I was excited about the possibility of adding new members.
This appears to be the death knell for the Big 12 Conference, as it seems highly likely that OU and others will be looking for greener pastures once the grant of rights agreement expires. In the meantime, OU and the other schools should try to rake in as much money as they can until the time comes to bolt.