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Sometimes websites and blogs talk about college football expansion just to get website clicks, otherwise known as clickbait. This time however the expansion stuff appears to be legit as the Big 12 once again is looking to poach several schools (either 4 teams or 2 teams). Also this expansion appears to be happening sooner rather than later. Here is what we know and also our recommendations for what teams should be gobbled up.
Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby says it is "conceivable" that the league could have a vote on specific expansion candidates by September.
— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) July 19, 2016
Expansion of two and four teams both on the table, Boren says.
— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) July 19, 2016
Spoke w/several sources about Big 12 expansion. Everyone in play. Best quote: "Cincinnati leader in clubhouse but we don’t have a clubhouse"
— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) July 19, 2016
14-team Big 12 is on the table. BYU, Memphis, Cincinnati, UCF, USF, Colorado State, Houston, UConn, Boise State, others
— Mark Schlabach (@Mark_Schlabach) July 19, 2016
And to top it off, BYU practically is begging for an invite from their official twitter account.
Statement from @TomHolmoe on the Big 12 announcing it will continue to explore expansion ...#GoCougs pic.twitter.com/56ZMEvioSQ
— BYU Cougars (@BYUCougars) July 19, 2016
So the big question is whether it will be 2 teams or 4 teams. My personal preference is to add 4. If you add four teams I would go with:
BYU, Cincinnati, Memphis, and UConn/Boise State
If you add only two teams I would go with:
BYU, CIncinnati
I know a lot of people will clamor for Houston, but I think it would be unwise to add a team from a TV market they Big 12 already owns (the state of Texas), and it would further complicate things from a recruiting standpoint.
BYU adds a national following and trips to Provo would be pretty cool. Cincinnati builds a pseudo land bridge to West Virginia. UConn is a huge TV market, but is clearly a step below in football. Boise State doesn't have much more than Blue Turf, but they are everyone's cinderella team.
Memphis gets the Big 12 into the SEC footprint and opens up new recruiting territories.
So who do you think the Big 12 should add with expansion seemingly inevitable and on the horizon