Thus the Big 12 remains a vulnerable and conflicted conference. If another round of realignment comes when current media-rights contracts expire several years down the road, this remains the most likely league to be raided. And there just isn't enough quality inventory out there for the Big 12 to raid to solidify itself.
But if there is one thing the league has on its side, it's time. The schools begging to join the Big 12 – Boise State, BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati, Colorado State, Connecticut, Houston, Memphis, South Florida, etc. – will still be available a year from now if the powers decide to delay expansion this summer. Or two years from now. And as mentioned, those TV contracts don't expire for a while, which gives the Big 12 time to study the evolving, cord-cutting landscape and figure out where (or if) the big money will be available in the future.
There is time for the Big 12 to decide what it wants to be when it grows up. But it has to prove it is capable of making big decisions. This week did little to build confidence in the league's future.
