One of the hot topics regarding expansion is who will the Big 12 select. Many people do not want to see another Texas school added. Count me as one of those people who do not want another SWC. However, I believe Houston is a sleeping giant and will be included in the next round of expansion whether it is the Big 12, ACC, or PAC 12.
University of Houston (UH)
Website: http://www.uhcougars.com/
Location: Houston, TX (10th largest TV market)
Enrollment: 42,738
Stadium Name: TDECU Stadium (newly renovated)
Stadium Size: 40,000
They are a Carnegie school (very good academically), they have been very competitive in football over the years (last 3 coaches, last year, and potentially this year), they have an extremely large TV market, and they are located in one of the most fertile recruiting grounds. Can you imagine how powerful Houston could become if they joined the ACC or PAC 12? I could see the Big 12 adding Houston as a defensive move to keep them from joining the ACC or PAC 12 (to be proactive before one the other conferences starts adding more teams again). Personally, I would love to see Baylor get voted out of the Big 12 and replaced by Houston. That would be a win-win for everyone. Plus, the Big 12 already has 1 private school in TCU, so we don't necessarily need another in the conference for tax purposes.
Brigham Young University (BYU)
Website: http://byucougars.com/home/m-football
Location: Provo, UT (national following)
Enrollment: 29,672 (very large for a private school)
Stadium Name: LaVell Edwards Stadium
Stadium Size: 63,470
BYU has one of the largest undergrad private school enrollments, a fairly large following with good name recognition (the Mormon version of Notre Dame), and been very competitive in the major sports.
San Diego State University (SDSU)
Website: http://www.goaztecs.com/facilities/qualcomm_stadium.html
Location: San Diego, CA (28th largest TV market)
Enrollment: 33,527
Stadium Name: Qualcomm Stadium (NFL stadium 5 miles from campus)
Stadium Size: 70,561
San Diego State University could also be a sleeping giant. They play their football games less than 5 miles from their campus in an NFL stadium in the 28th largest TV market. The state of California is one of the top 3 recruiting areas, it has some of the largest and most densely populated cities in the US (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, etc), and might be a welcomed travel destination for fans attending an away game.
University of Central Florida (UCF)
Website: http://www.ucfathletics.com
Location: Orlando, FL (19th largest TV market)
Enrollment: 63,016 (1st in the country)
Stadium Name: Bright House Networks Stadium
Stadium Size: 45,301
The University of Central Florida is another potential sleeping giant with the size of the school (alumni base), recruiting location (one of the top 3 recruiting regions in the country), and a great TV market being in the state of Florida with cities such as Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, and Orlando (a top 20 TV market), two years ago they won a BCS game against Baylor, and have a new up-and-coming head football coach in Scott Frost.
University of Connecticut (UCONN)
Website: http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/m-footbl/conn-m-footbl-body.html
Location: East Hartford, CT (near major cities like Boston and New York City)
Enrollment: 31,119
Stadium Name: Pratt & Whitney Stadium
Stadium Size: 40,642
This would put the Big 12 in the NYC and Boston area with great proximity to ESPN headquarters, but let's not fool ourselves. The main thing UCONN brings to the conference is the basketball brand which is much like Kansas. However, they did make a BCS game in 2011.
I also believe the conference needs to move away from the North/South divisions from years past. This will allow the Big 12 to more evenly spread out the divisions. In addition, it will allow the conference to add the best available east and west coast teams (increasing recruiting grounds, TV markets, added exposure). This would allow the conference to have 11:00am CST games every week from one of the east coast teams (West Virginia, UCONN, Central Florida) and evening games at 6:00pm CST with one of the west coast teams (BYU or San Diego State).
West
OU
OSU
ISU
TCU
+ Houston - Baylor
+ BYU
+ San Diego State
East
Texas
TT
KSU
Kansas
West Virginia
+ Central Florida
+ UCONN
Every year teams would have to play everyone in their division (6 games), then have 1 rivalry game against a team from the other division early in the season (at a neutral site), and have 2 rotating games against teams from the other division (much like the SEC for a total of 9 conference games). The rivalry games would be played in major cities (for additional exposure) and be played early in the season (much like the SEC because there are only a few good matchups to watch early in the year).
Rivalry Games (neutral site)
OSU vs West Virginia (week #1 in St. Louis)
Houston vs Central Florida (week #1 in Atlanta)
TCU vs KSU (week #2 in Nashville or Memphis)
San Diego State vs. Kansas (week #2 in Denver)
TT vs BYU (week #3 in Phoenix)
Iowa State vs UCONN (week #3 in Cincinnati)
OU vs. Texas (week #6 in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl)
University of Houston (UH)
Website: http://www.uhcougars.com/
Location: Houston, TX (10th largest TV market)
Enrollment: 42,738
Stadium Name: TDECU Stadium (newly renovated)
Stadium Size: 40,000
They are a Carnegie school (very good academically), they have been very competitive in football over the years (last 3 coaches, last year, and potentially this year), they have an extremely large TV market, and they are located in one of the most fertile recruiting grounds. Can you imagine how powerful Houston could become if they joined the ACC or PAC 12? I could see the Big 12 adding Houston as a defensive move to keep them from joining the ACC or PAC 12 (to be proactive before one the other conferences starts adding more teams again). Personally, I would love to see Baylor get voted out of the Big 12 and replaced by Houston. That would be a win-win for everyone. Plus, the Big 12 already has 1 private school in TCU, so we don't necessarily need another in the conference for tax purposes.
Brigham Young University (BYU)
Website: http://byucougars.com/home/m-football
Location: Provo, UT (national following)
Enrollment: 29,672 (very large for a private school)
Stadium Name: LaVell Edwards Stadium
Stadium Size: 63,470
BYU has one of the largest undergrad private school enrollments, a fairly large following with good name recognition (the Mormon version of Notre Dame), and been very competitive in the major sports.
San Diego State University (SDSU)
Website: http://www.goaztecs.com/facilities/qualcomm_stadium.html
Location: San Diego, CA (28th largest TV market)
Enrollment: 33,527
Stadium Name: Qualcomm Stadium (NFL stadium 5 miles from campus)
Stadium Size: 70,561
San Diego State University could also be a sleeping giant. They play their football games less than 5 miles from their campus in an NFL stadium in the 28th largest TV market. The state of California is one of the top 3 recruiting areas, it has some of the largest and most densely populated cities in the US (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, etc), and might be a welcomed travel destination for fans attending an away game.
University of Central Florida (UCF)
Website: http://www.ucfathletics.com
Location: Orlando, FL (19th largest TV market)
Enrollment: 63,016 (1st in the country)
Stadium Name: Bright House Networks Stadium
Stadium Size: 45,301
The University of Central Florida is another potential sleeping giant with the size of the school (alumni base), recruiting location (one of the top 3 recruiting regions in the country), and a great TV market being in the state of Florida with cities such as Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, and Orlando (a top 20 TV market), two years ago they won a BCS game against Baylor, and have a new up-and-coming head football coach in Scott Frost.
University of Connecticut (UCONN)
Website: http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/m-footbl/conn-m-footbl-body.html
Location: East Hartford, CT (near major cities like Boston and New York City)
Enrollment: 31,119
Stadium Name: Pratt & Whitney Stadium
Stadium Size: 40,642
This would put the Big 12 in the NYC and Boston area with great proximity to ESPN headquarters, but let's not fool ourselves. The main thing UCONN brings to the conference is the basketball brand which is much like Kansas. However, they did make a BCS game in 2011.
I also believe the conference needs to move away from the North/South divisions from years past. This will allow the Big 12 to more evenly spread out the divisions. In addition, it will allow the conference to add the best available east and west coast teams (increasing recruiting grounds, TV markets, added exposure). This would allow the conference to have 11:00am CST games every week from one of the east coast teams (West Virginia, UCONN, Central Florida) and evening games at 6:00pm CST with one of the west coast teams (BYU or San Diego State).
West
OU
OSU
ISU
TCU
+ Houston - Baylor
+ BYU
+ San Diego State
East
Texas
TT
KSU
Kansas
West Virginia
+ Central Florida
+ UCONN
Every year teams would have to play everyone in their division (6 games), then have 1 rivalry game against a team from the other division early in the season (at a neutral site), and have 2 rotating games against teams from the other division (much like the SEC for a total of 9 conference games). The rivalry games would be played in major cities (for additional exposure) and be played early in the season (much like the SEC because there are only a few good matchups to watch early in the year).
Rivalry Games (neutral site)
OSU vs West Virginia (week #1 in St. Louis)
Houston vs Central Florida (week #1 in Atlanta)
TCU vs KSU (week #2 in Nashville or Memphis)
San Diego State vs. Kansas (week #2 in Denver)
TT vs BYU (week #3 in Phoenix)
Iowa State vs UCONN (week #3 in Cincinnati)
OU vs. Texas (week #6 in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl)
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