Big 12 to Remain Top Men’s Basketball League With or Without Texas and Oklahoma
October 25, 2021 12:42 PM | Men's Basketball, Blog
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – College basketball statistical guru Ken Pomeroy rates the Big 12 the No. 1 men's basketball conference in the country with Texas and Oklahoma as its members.
And guess what?
Whenever those two leave for the SEC, the Big 12 will still be No. 1, according to Pomeroy's computer rankings.
What Big 12 men's basketball will be losing is quite a bit - a Longhorn program that has been to three Final Fours, seven Elite Eights and 10 Sweet 16s and checks in at No. 5 in this year's preseason AP poll, and a Sooners program that has had two NCAA Tournament runner-up finishes, five Final Fours, nine Elite Eights and 11 Sweet 16 trips.
But what the Big 12 will be adding is quite a bit, too. It will be adding a Houston program coming off a Final Four appearance last year, ranked 15th in this year's preseason poll, plus two NCAA Tournament runner-up finishes, six Final Fours, six Elite Eights, 12 Sweet 16s and 22 NCAA appearances.
It will be adding a Cincinnati program with two NCAA titles in its history plus six Final Fours, eight Elite Eights, 12 Sweet 16s and 33 total tournament appearances.
It will be adding a BYU program with three Elite Eights, seven Sweet 16s and 30 total tournament appearances and a Central Florida program with five NCAA trips in its history, the last coming in 2019.
During the Big 12's annual media day activities last week in Kansas City, commissioner Bob Bowlsby said the possibility exists that the four additions could actually exceed the two subtractions by more than just numbers.
"It's arguable," Bowlsby said. "Nobody has a better basketball tradition than Cincinnati. BYU has traditionally played in the top 25, doing it coming out of a relatively mid-major league.
"I think in Houston's case, their strength is self-evident. They were in the Final Four last year. UCF has had good teams as well, coached by my dear friend Johnny Dawkins," Bowlsby said.
West Virginia's Bob Huggins is certainly familiar with what Cincinnati will be bringing to the table with a rabid fan following in a big-time basketball town.
"It's a great town, for one," the former Bearcat coach said. "Shoemaker Center is a really good place to play. They have a great fan base, and I think they will certainly fit into what we have going here now."
All four should augment what Huggins considers a difficult basketball league full of schools with great traditions, coaches and fan support.
"I've been in leagues where you kind of look down (to the other bench) before the game. We were playing this team one time - they had really good players - and (Huggins' assistant coach) kept saying to me how concerned he was how good their players were. I said, 'Well, if you get real nervous, look at that fat guy sitting down there in a suit; it will make you feel better.'
"And we just don't have that (in the Big 12)," Huggins continued. "There are leagues like that – guys that just go out and recruit and get really good players but don't coach 'em much. That's not the case here. They go out and get really good players, and they coach them really good."
Continuing to have a strong Big 12 men's basketball conference is a known. What is unknown is how many teams that will actually be in the near future?
Bowlsby took a stab at that question last week.
"I know what the options are. In the case of BYU, they've said they intend to start on July 1, 2023. That's great," he explained. "I think the others will try and do that, but they have indicated to us they play to join no later than July 1, 2024. They have said some things they need to do to extricate themselves from the American Athletic Conference, and they're in the process of doing that now."
Bowlsby said the conference is hopeful of having all of the new members in the league as early as the 2023-24 season, and no later than the 2024-25 season.
That means the Big 12 could swell to as many as 14 teams if Texas and Oklahoma remain for the entire length of the league's Grant of Rights agreement, which expires on June 30, 2025.
"For a while, we'll be 14 members," Bowlsby postulated. "Texas and Oklahoma have made the statement publicly, and our documents would indicate that they will be with us through June 30, 2025. Until we see anything to the contrary, that's what we're going to assume."
After the Big 12 falls back to 12 teams, Bowlsby said the conference will reassess its membership status at that point.
"That could entail looking at targets of opportunity for additional expansion, but I feel very good about the four that we've brought in," he said. "I think the four schools bring remarkable strength to the Big 12, and we're already pretty strong."
Bowlsby conceded that Texas and Oklahoma may look to leave the conference before the Grant of Rights agreement ends in 2025.
"Well, certainly I would make the assumption that they would try and leave earlier than that," he said. "We have agreements in terms of our rights, notice provisions in our bylaws, and we expect to exercise our prerogatives around those documents."
Bowlsby indicated the conference will take its product to the open market in 2025 to determine what its media rights value will be without Texas and Oklahoma.
"It's good to own live content," he noted. "Nobody knows what it's worth until somebody is ready to pay you for it. As you guys know, we're on the air on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, and streaming has become a bigger and bigger part of the televising of college athletics. I think that migration is going to continue.
"How you model in the marketplace is really dependent upon how many suitors there are – how many people are going compete for that content?" he said. "To forecast what it might be worth is really a fool's errand because it's only worth what anybody will pay for it at the time they are going to consider it."
Keeping what is considered the strongest men's basketball conference in the country intact will certainly add value to the league's media rights package when it comes time to negotiate a new deal.
"I think our content is high quality. We're going to be in three different time zones in a fairly significant manner, so I'm very bullish about the value of our conference going forward," Bowlsby concluded.
And guess what?
Whenever those two leave for the SEC, the Big 12 will still be No. 1, according to Pomeroy's computer rankings.
What Big 12 men's basketball will be losing is quite a bit - a Longhorn program that has been to three Final Fours, seven Elite Eights and 10 Sweet 16s and checks in at No. 5 in this year's preseason AP poll, and a Sooners program that has had two NCAA Tournament runner-up finishes, five Final Fours, nine Elite Eights and 11 Sweet 16 trips.
But what the Big 12 will be adding is quite a bit, too. It will be adding a Houston program coming off a Final Four appearance last year, ranked 15th in this year's preseason poll, plus two NCAA Tournament runner-up finishes, six Final Fours, six Elite Eights, 12 Sweet 16s and 22 NCAA appearances.
It will be adding a Cincinnati program with two NCAA titles in its history plus six Final Fours, eight Elite Eights, 12 Sweet 16s and 33 total tournament appearances.
It will be adding a BYU program with three Elite Eights, seven Sweet 16s and 30 total tournament appearances and a Central Florida program with five NCAA trips in its history, the last coming in 2019.
During the Big 12's annual media day activities last week in Kansas City, commissioner Bob Bowlsby said the possibility exists that the four additions could actually exceed the two subtractions by more than just numbers."It's arguable," Bowlsby said. "Nobody has a better basketball tradition than Cincinnati. BYU has traditionally played in the top 25, doing it coming out of a relatively mid-major league.
"I think in Houston's case, their strength is self-evident. They were in the Final Four last year. UCF has had good teams as well, coached by my dear friend Johnny Dawkins," Bowlsby said.
West Virginia's Bob Huggins is certainly familiar with what Cincinnati will be bringing to the table with a rabid fan following in a big-time basketball town.
"It's a great town, for one," the former Bearcat coach said. "Shoemaker Center is a really good place to play. They have a great fan base, and I think they will certainly fit into what we have going here now."
All four should augment what Huggins considers a difficult basketball league full of schools with great traditions, coaches and fan support.
"I've been in leagues where you kind of look down (to the other bench) before the game. We were playing this team one time - they had really good players - and (Huggins' assistant coach) kept saying to me how concerned he was how good their players were. I said, 'Well, if you get real nervous, look at that fat guy sitting down there in a suit; it will make you feel better.'
"And we just don't have that (in the Big 12)," Huggins continued. "There are leagues like that – guys that just go out and recruit and get really good players but don't coach 'em much. That's not the case here. They go out and get really good players, and they coach them really good."
Continuing to have a strong Big 12 men's basketball conference is a known. What is unknown is how many teams that will actually be in the near future?
Bowlsby took a stab at that question last week.
"I know what the options are. In the case of BYU, they've said they intend to start on July 1, 2023. That's great," he explained. "I think the others will try and do that, but they have indicated to us they play to join no later than July 1, 2024. They have said some things they need to do to extricate themselves from the American Athletic Conference, and they're in the process of doing that now."
Bowlsby said the conference is hopeful of having all of the new members in the league as early as the 2023-24 season, and no later than the 2024-25 season.
That means the Big 12 could swell to as many as 14 teams if Texas and Oklahoma remain for the entire length of the league's Grant of Rights agreement, which expires on June 30, 2025.
"For a while, we'll be 14 members," Bowlsby postulated. "Texas and Oklahoma have made the statement publicly, and our documents would indicate that they will be with us through June 30, 2025. Until we see anything to the contrary, that's what we're going to assume."
After the Big 12 falls back to 12 teams, Bowlsby said the conference will reassess its membership status at that point.
"That could entail looking at targets of opportunity for additional expansion, but I feel very good about the four that we've brought in," he said. "I think the four schools bring remarkable strength to the Big 12, and we're already pretty strong."
Bowlsby conceded that Texas and Oklahoma may look to leave the conference before the Grant of Rights agreement ends in 2025.
"Well, certainly I would make the assumption that they would try and leave earlier than that," he said. "We have agreements in terms of our rights, notice provisions in our bylaws, and we expect to exercise our prerogatives around those documents."
Bowlsby indicated the conference will take its product to the open market in 2025 to determine what its media rights value will be without Texas and Oklahoma.
"It's good to own live content," he noted. "Nobody knows what it's worth until somebody is ready to pay you for it. As you guys know, we're on the air on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, and streaming has become a bigger and bigger part of the televising of college athletics. I think that migration is going to continue.
"How you model in the marketplace is really dependent upon how many suitors there are – how many people are going compete for that content?" he said. "To forecast what it might be worth is really a fool's errand because it's only worth what anybody will pay for it at the time they are going to consider it."
Keeping what is considered the strongest men's basketball conference in the country intact will certainly add value to the league's media rights package when it comes time to negotiate a new deal.
"I think our content is high quality. We're going to be in three different time zones in a fairly significant manner, so I'm very bullish about the value of our conference going forward," Bowlsby concluded.
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