What National Media Members are Saying About BYU’s Chances to Join Big 12 or Other Conference

After the bombshell news dropped yesterday of Oklahoma and Texas seriously considering a move to the Big 12, the college football landscape as we know it could be drastically altered. The Longhorns and Sooners surely wouldn’t be the only domino to fall, as the Big 12 and every other Power conference would re-evaluate their league membership moving forward. The Big 12 would obviously take a huge blow losing its two flagship programs, but BYU could be a beneficiary if they slid into a revamped Big 12 conference.

The Big 12 would remain a shell of itself, but joining the ranks of Oklahoma State, Baylor, TCU, Texas and others would be intriguing and potentially more lucrative.

Below we rounded out some of the National Media’s thoughts regarding BYU and conference expansion.

• Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports discussed what the Big 12 could do if Oklahoma and Texas leave.

“The Big 12 has to decide whether to add two, four or six schools. Four seems like the most reasonable number, with Cincinnati, UCF, USF, BYU and Boise State the most likely candidates from outside the state of Texas... Remember, it’s streaming subscriptions, not cable boxes, that matter most. BYU would appear to have the best option for that, with its national following. But BYU is always complicated, which prevented the Big 12 from adding it in 2016 when the Cougars’ complicated LGBTQ history became a factor.”

• Chuck Carlton of The Dallas Morning News looked at which schools the Big 12 could pursue.

“There’s no Texas or OU out there (duh...) but there are intriguing names. BYU has great tradition, a big stadium and a national fan base. LGBTQ concerns were a major problem the last time but now the Big 12 is much more desperate.”

• Paul Finebaum on his radio show today that BYU is “very valuable” and could help the Pac 12 or Big 12.

• Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated laid out multiple scenarios for the Big 12.

“There are other options among schools the Big 12 haughtily invited to apply and then rejected several years ago when it toyed with expansion: BYU, Boise State, Colorado State, SMU, Houston, UCF, USF, Cincinnati and Memphis would be the top candidates.

None of the above presents a perfect fit. None of the above adequately replaces Texas and Oklahoma. But even as the SEC and Big Ten put further distance between themselves and everyone else, the goal is to be near the top of the Everyone Else list. Adding successful programs would give the Big 12 a chance to maintain some of its status.”

• USA Today mentioned BYU as 1 of 9 possible schools for the Big 12 to consider.

“This is a bit of a long shot. The Cougars’ overtures to the Big 12 have gone unrequited for some time. But BYU does have a national identity, so the league might at least explore the possibility if the need dictates.”

• Staff at The Athletic looked at potential expansion ramifications.

“I hope to see more programs playing at the perceived “power” level — teams like BYU, Houston, Cincinnati, Boise State and UCF — so as to grow the sport.”