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Message: [QUOTE="jostar1, post: 1762696, member: 1737"] John E. Hoover ‏@johnehoover · 10h10 hours ago My column today: What if all this #Big12 expansion talk is really just a clever ruse? [URL="http://thefranchiseok.com/?p=8565"]John E. Hoover: What if all this Big 12 expansion talk is really just a clever ruse?[/URL] Maybe all this tough talk about expansion and television contract pro rata adjustments is really just a smokescreen for what the Big 12 really wants: a league television network. Yes, the Big 12 is the only Power 5 conference with 10 teams. But now, the Big 12 is also the only Power 5 conference without a television network. Ten members actually is a workable model, so long as it’s stable. The Big 12 nearly had two teams in the inaugural College Football Playoff, and last year the Big 12 landed both a playoff football team and a Final Four basketball team. As Bowlsby and Boren reminded us so frequently leading up to July, that indicates a position of strength, not weakness. But now, being the only Power 5 conference without a TV network, that is a sign of weakness. Think about it. Does the Big 12 really want to add Cincinnati or Houston or Memphis or Colorado State at the risk of jeopardizing its relationships (and future negotiating leverage) with ESPN and Fox? Maybe the Big 12’s sudden, unexpected interest in expansion and its unusually hardline stance on pro rata adjustments is really just a big negotiating chip to force ESPN and Fox to give the Big 12 what it really wants: a television network. More at: [URL="http://thefranchiseok.com/?p=8565"]John E. Hoover: What if all this Big 12 expansion talk is really just a clever ruse?[/URL] [/QUOTE]

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