If we are to apply the same "they will always be there" (the same reason we were told that the ACC favored UL over UConn in their last expansion) reasoning to our B12 expansion competitors, I think we can safely evaluate the following:
Cincinnati - ACC is definitely a possibility...they will NOT always be there;
Houston - the academics are horrific and they are 4th most popular in the city of Houston, which happens to already be inside the current B12 footprint ...they are the very definition of always being there;
Memphis - could be a stretch play for the ACC years from now but wouldn't help the ACCN cause whatsoever...they will always be there;
USF - could be an ACC target but how would that fly with FSU and Miami, who clearly wield more power than Tobacco Road these days? I think they will be there for another 5 years as they are too small time for the SEC;
UCF - same as USF;
BYU - by every metric, they are P5 worthy except for that blasted religious one. They won't play on Sundays and their BYUtv is not just sports-based, it's LDS-based. More complicated to roll into a B12N than thought. They might be a target for the PAC at some point, but the PAC seems content to stay at 12 for the foreseeable future. If they added BYU, who else is going to come to make 14? Colorado St? SDSU? Boise doesn't come close to meeting academic standards of Cal, Stanford, UCLA, etc. I think BYU will be there for quite a while until a 14th school emerges as a "must-add" for the PAC;
UConn - what a difference a few years make. Thought to be a long-shot for the B12 in 2014, we've emerged as a frontrunner thanks to our markets and money we would instantly bring. We'd do the same for the ACC and an ACCN and I think that's the rub. There is probably only enough money and demand for one more conference network - a B12 Network or an ACC Network. Not both. None of our competitors above, except maybe BYU, comes close to bringing the amount of TVs UConn brings. Much like RU being able to bring NYC to the BTN because New Jersey is located inside the NYC DMA and FCC coverage maps, the same thing applies to CT and a B12/ACC Network. I'd say that the B12 looks more likely to launch a network right now, if they are able to convince Texas to roll up the LHN and use that infrastructure in a B12N. If so, UConn is the key to a Network launch and is a MUST ADD.
If I'm the B12, I appeal to Texas' Texas-sized ego and tell them "what good is a LHN if the only people who watch it live in Texas?" The B12 plays the most exciting brand of football in the country and registers the lowest ratings almost on a weekly basis. Why? Because their footprint is embarrassingly small. They need to add markets now. I would add Cincinnati and UConn today, form a strong 3-team eastern pod, and work tirelessly to roll the LHN into B12N. A B12 Network launch would send seismic shockwaves to Tallahassee and Clemson and Miami and Atlanta and would cause some more of that famous in-fighting between "football" and "basketball" schools (sound familiar?). Notre Dame seems to be too stubborn to join any conference at the moment and if you take the ACC's 2 top targets away from them, then chaos ensues. Will it be enough to eventually pry FSU/Clemson/VT/UL/Miami/ND etc into the B12, with a B12N and B12N $$ (thanks to UConn!)?? I think so.
