Gordon Gee: Big12 expansion on hiatus

[dayooper]

WVU President and member of the Big12 expansion committee was quoted in the Charleston Gazette-Mail as saying the Big12 expansion is on a hiatus. Citing the inclusion of Oklahoma in the playoff, the Big12 isn't as gun ho on adding members. From the December 21st edition of the Charleston Gazette-Mail:

WVU president E. Gordon Gee is among them. And among other things, he’s on the Big 12 expansion committee.

Here’s what he had to say on Monday about possible expansion:

“We’re kind of on a hiatus period,” Gee said. “We wanted to see how the conference fared in the College Football Playoff this year.”

Indeed, beauty is in the eye of the beholders: Gee and others on the committee. They see elegance and refinement this season. That’s on the heels of an ugly 2014-15, which saw no Big 12 team make the playoffs.

This season, Oklahoma made the grade. And guess what? Whatever wheels were grinding toward Big 12 expansion has slowed. At least for now.

“Since Oklahoma made the playoffs,” Gee said, “some of the impetus for expanding isn’t there. I’d say about half the presidents are in favor of expansion and half are not.

“I don’t know when the next meeting is, but I know we’re still doing a lot of research and will have a vigorous discussion on it. It’s just low-key now because of Oklahoma.”

Very interesting quote. Gee is one of the better known and outspoken university presidents and he usually speaks without a filter (I hope Jim Tressell doesn't fire me). If the pressure to expand is lessening, it probably is.

He goes on and talks about the split between the schools to expand.

Anyway, Gee said to expand or not to expand “is really a split decision.”

The WVU president, you may or may not know, is a proponent of expansion. Heck, there are whispers he’d be in favor of moving from 10 to 14 — rather than 12 — schools. He went through the process as president of Ohio State and understands the benefits and drawbacks.http://www.wvgazettemail.com/sports...-for-bowl-beauty#sthash.v1Gy3hzk.dpuf[/QUOTE]

http://www.wvgazettemail.com/sports...-for-bowl-beauty#sthash.v1Gy3hzk.dpuf[/QUOTE]

It really isn't a split. Texas doesn't want to, so they won't.

Big12=Dead Conference Walking

Link

 

[whaler11]

Expanding doesn't make it any more likely they survive.

 

[Ldandy]

Expanding doesn't make it any more likely they survive.

Only in the sense that there would still be a place for the schools not named Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas to park their teams after the others move on.

 

[whaler11]

Only in the sense that there would still be a place for the schools not named Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas to park their teams after the others move on.

If that happens they can add the same teams they could add today.

 

[Fishy]

And yet some of the schools, including Oklahoma, want to expand.

There has to be an upside to it...somewhere.

 

[Drew]

Since there is the clause in their TV deal that states the deal goes up proportionally if schools are added, wouldn't it only make sense to add schools? Better chance at getting revenue through things like NCAA Tournament and Bowl Credits in addition to expanding into new markets and the potential for a XII network.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

If the B1G, SEC, and possibly the PAC-12 still continue pushing for conferences of 12-teams (or more), OU's participation in the playoff games may be short-term cover for the Big XII's failure to agree on expansion. Sugar coat or spin it as a hiatus or whatever, but what's the likelihood the former still supersedes the latter?

 

[Adios]

If anyone leaves the Big 12 soon, they'll probably expand to 14 or 16.

 

[pj]

Since there is the clause in their TV deal that states the deal goes up proportionally if schools are added, wouldn't it only make sense to add schools? Better chance at getting revenue through things like NCAA Tournament and Bowl Credits in addition to expanding into new markets and the potential for a XII network.

It makes sense for the next ten years, but revenue might be diluted thereafter. So if you want the B12 to stick together long term, expansion might be a poor idea. It might be better, for example, to hope the ACC gets raided (UNC and UVa to B1G?) at the end of their contract and there is an opportunity for a B12-ACC merger, in which case you'd not want to have more weak teams in the B12.

 

[SubbaBub]

Translation: "I don't want to talk about expansion until after the rule change vote on championship games. We'll expand after that."