TCUdirtbag said:
I would want to hear what he actually said in context, but it reads like all he's doing is speaking the company line the Big 12 Presidents/Chancellors don't want to expand (because there's not 2 that are slam dunk additions), and they make that choice knowing it puts the football programs at a slight disadvantage head-to-head with other 1-loss P5 playoff candidates.
I don't see why people are upset about this--other than people are naive/uninformed about the dollars and cents of expansion. Breaking news: one football CCG alone doesn't make the pie big enough to split 2 more ways, and there's a strong desire to not water down the brand.
I think he's right. I think we're 6-8 years away from expansion. I think you'll see the LHN morph into the Big 12 Network and a couple programs added in 2020-2023 (in time to trigger some early media contract renegotiation and extend the GOR).
People should spend less time worrying about expansion and more time enjoying the 10-team format. It really is a lot of fun.
You're all over it.
Right now, we can't have a CCG w/o expanding, and it appears obvious that expansion isn't financially prudent for the B12 right now.
In Janurary, the P5 are expected to deregulate the CCG rule, which will allow the B12 to add a CCG with 10 members. If that happens as expected, the 10 members of the B12 are going to have a critical debate.
I will side with those aiming to add a CCG w/o expanding. I don't like the gamble of hoping the other P5 conferences lose enough to open a slot for the B12. I want the B12 teams to be considered on their own merit. The CCG is the stumbling block.
Edit: there is also the issue of how you implement the B12 CCG. 1 round robin vs 2 5-team divisions? If rr, full 9-game rr or only partial 8-game rr? If divisions, how do you break it up? Will the TV partners allow us to drop below a 9 conference game regular season (which means they get less content than they bargained for)? How much revenue does a B12 CCG bring in? Who owns the rights to it? Lots of moving pieces.