‘I am very confident’: Why Big 12 leaders like newest conference realignment options

It was about this time last year when the majority of folks in Big 12 country started getting nervous.

No one knew for sure if the conference was going to survive following defections from Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC. Some fanbases hoped for an invitation from the Big Ten or the Pac-12. Others wished for the league to stay together and find a path forward via expansion, which is eventually what happened and brought BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF into the fold. Nevertheless, those were stressful times.

Fast-forward 365 days and you will find a much different vibe.

“I am very confident,” K-State athletics director Gene Taylor said. “We have talked about it as ADs and we are in a lot better place than we were a year ago. It feels good to be in a position of strength as opposed to being the hunted. We could maybe be the hunter this year. We all feel that way. With a new commissioner, we are just trying to figure out the best way to go about it.”

“This go-around, there is a little bit more confidence in the Big 12 and what the Big 12 stands for,” said KU AD Travis Goff. “After what the Big 12 has gone through, literally living through that and seeing the new strength of the league ... Things feel more stable. There is a lot more confidence in where the conference is and where the conference is going.”

The biggest change: Big 12 fans are no longer worried about their conference ceasing to exist as other leagues attempt to poach its most prominent members.

Big 12 schools are also no longer shamelessly trying to market themselves on social media to other conferences.

“The beauty of it is you get to live where your feet are and for us that is right here comfortably and confidently in the Big 12,” Goff said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do at our own place. We’ve got our own backyard and front porch to take care of before we worry about other neighbors or neighborhoods. That’s where we’re focused, and we’re glad to be doing it in a conference that has stability and strength moving forward.”

As Taylor alluded to above, there is now talk that the Big 12 could go on the offensive. Reports have suggested that new Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark would like to add some combination of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Oregon, Utah and Washington to the conference now that the Pac-12 has lost UCLA and USC to the Big Ten.

It’s difficult to say how much mutual interest exists between the parties, but Yormark didn’t shoot down the possibility of expansion when he was asked about those schools earlier this week at the Big 12 Football Media Days event.

Instead, he said the Big 12 was “exploring all options” when it comes to realignment. He also said the conference wants to be aggressive and make moves that increase its value.

“The Big 12 is open for business,” Yormark said.

Does that mean expansion is on the table?

“It could be,” Taylor said. “Right now our pie is ($42.6 million) per school. If we add four more schools, how much does the pie change? If it doesn’t get bigger and the pie is suddenly $30 million per school, that’s not good for anybody. But if we can add to that pie with schools that can bring us up to $50 million per school that makes sense. We have to make sure we don’t add just to add.

“We are a good, viable conference with the soon-to-be 12 of us. If we add it has to be the right teams that add value.”

The most popular realignment theory has Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah migrating to the Big 12. Those additions would probably increase value for the conference and boost its membership to 16, just like the Big Ten and SEC. But it’s unlikely this would create a massive financial windfall.

If the Pac-12 is unable to find stability in the coming months, perhaps a marriage could be arranged with some of their teams and the Big 12.

“There’s certainly a chance that this thing could continue to shift,” Goff said, “and there could be more growth.”

The race is on for the ACC, Big 12 or Pac-12 to establish itself as the nation’s third-most prestigious conference behind the Big Ten and the SEC.

Perhaps more expansion is the answer.

“It’s a natural sentiment to have,” Goff said. “We should all feel that there’s an opportunity to position your conference and do what you can as an institution to position your conference right there in the rankings. We don’t sit there and talk about what does it look like to be the clear cut No. 3, but I think we all feel like that’s maybe where the opportunity lies as you forecast out.”