- Joined
- Jan 4, 2023
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I don't believe that The Big 12 ever looked East because of the markets, but instead looked to where all of the movement was happening. First during the destruction of The BE2.0 by ESPN/ACC Raids they were able to grab WVU. They desperately needed a name football program to replace one of the 3 departing schools going to The SEC and B1G. The second time was after The B1G grabbed UMD and was pushing hard for UNC and UVA. The Big 12 believed, and maybe accurately, that FSU and Clemson might fall in their lap. We all know what happened with Louisville to The ACC and their eventual GOR.
Through all this time no one believed that The PAC was a potential target for realignment. They were viewed as safe due to their geography, homogeneous membership, and long history together. It took an 800 LB Gorilla with a chainsaw for a **** to destroy that narrative. Prior to The B1G cutting the heart out of The PAC, people discussed the idea of The PAC grabbing the best of The Big 12 to potentially go to 16 Teams and get TV Windows in another time zone. JMO but had The B1G preceded The SEC in making their move by grabbing USC/UCLA first, The 8 Team Big 12 would have likely approached the 10 Team PAC regarding a potential merger, scheduling agreement or one side or the other would have attempted to poach from the other. I know you disagree, but there is no chance in Hell that The Big 12 is taking UCF, Cincy, BYU, and UH if UA, ASU, CU, and UU were on the table.
You're wrong, because Fox told the Big 12 to take those schools because of these markets. They would have just told the Big 12 to also grab Arizona, ASU, Colorado and Utah because they wanted markets on the East coast to pair with the Big Ten. And the Big 12 schools wanted markets and geographical partners for West Virginia. Bowlsby has been saying that for years, that's why Cincinnati and UCF were always on their radar, and that's why the Big 12 never looked to expand West until Brett Yormark arrived. The Big 12 would be in a similar situation as the Pac-12 if they did not add Eastern markets and then lost West Virginia.