(10-08-2020 05:09 PM)Erictelevision Wrote: ...What's left of the BIG XII joins the AAC
The main problem with this scenario - - even if half of the Big 12 schools were to switch conferences - - is that
it wouldn't make sense for the remaining teams to move to a non-P5 conference.
It would probably be much more likely that they would add enough non-P5 full-member schools to expand membership to a total of 12, thus making the "Big-12" a a 12-team conference.
The most likely candidates, if travel distance were a major consideration, might be BYU, Houston, Memphis, Cincinnati (regional rivals for WV and Iowa State), and SMU. All five have reasonably good FB and BB programs.
Because the Big 8 and Big 12 have always maintained a strong (Mississippi River to Rocky Mountains) regional identity, with the single exception of WV, schools such as SDSU and UCF might be less likely to be invited into the Big 12.
In that case, schools in or near the Big-12's regional footprint, such as Colorado State and Tulane might be invited. Utah State is strong enough in FB and BB to merit an invitation, and would provide BYU with a nearby rival. Rice would be given consideration, due to their location, AAU status and long history in the SWC.
The most likely new Big-12 members:
BYU
Houston
Memphis
Cincinnati
The next most likely new Big-12 members:
SMU
Colorado State
Utah State
Tulane
Other possible, but somewhat less likely Big-12 members, due to higher travel costs or less competitive teams:
UCF
SDSU
Rice