Don’t want to be the new Old Big East though.
Gonzaga to join the Big 12?
- Thread starter BigJCy
- Start date
Don’t want to be the new Old Big East though.
Basketball is the best sport for this to happen in IMO. If Gonzaga joins and maintains its level, the Big 12 is going to regularly send teams to March Madness with 7-11 conference records. Probably will get in a 6-12 team that has a strong non-con, just off of strength of schedule (SOS) alone. Our hoops league will be like a supercharged version of SEC football. Off the charts SOS.
Basketball is all about getting into March and then seeing what happens; SOS is very strongly considered by the committee.
I say bring it on and let's get as good as we can be. Big 12 shouldn't be saying no to things that will make it better.
What if....you add Gonzaga, and as a result you have far and away the best basketball conf and down the road that helps lure in the ACC basketball powers. Duke, Syracuse...etc. about that same time the NCAA tournament gets rebid, maybe you cut out the NCAA totally. And it prevents the sec and big 10 from breaking away.
I don't know, seems a little crazy, but I've heard of worse ideas.
I don't know, seems a little crazy, but I've heard of worse ideas.
They're already a well-known brand. If they're making comparable Power 5 MBB money in the Big 12, surely they could pay for another high profile coach if they wanted to. They've managed to keep the one they have all these years.
Syracuse for a "New York state of mind" commissioner makes a lot of sense.
Not crazy. Many people think this. The Big 12 doesn't need to subsidize the NCAA and SEC basketball.
Unless they're tied up too tight, then some go under
The Pac 12 is doing their best at this right nowUnless they're tied up too tight, then some go under
I wonder if Yormark is plotting a very different future for the Big12. And this is step 1. Hear me out.
Eventually the NCAA will get kicked out of running the tournament, and many hundreds of millions of $$ will flow to the schools instead. It would rival the football money -- less, but not far off.
Big12 is an also ran for the football money. Why not make the B1G and SEC into the also rans for the basketball money? They get $100M annual for football, we get $50M. What if Big12 can get $70M annual for bball and they get $30M? You've closed the gap and made your brand #1 for bball.
So go get the Zags, the Big East, some ACC teams when that goes down, Arizona... put together a nationwide league with major basketball brands. People have talked about a football superleague... what about a basketball superleague? NBA-lite, like the G-League, except people actually care about it.
The Big12 will become a 2nd tier football conference with 12-16 teams. But the #1 basketball conference with maybe 30ish teams. Is that the vision? Yormark has a lot of NBA DNA.
Might not be the strategy, and it might not work regardless, but I think it is interesting.
Wouldn't be at all surprised if this is on Yormark's mind. He is going to want to be able to take some ACC schools when that league inevitably gets raided in about 10 years. Building by far the best basketball conference will make it attractive to basketball-first schools.
If the SEC and Big Ten pass on Duke, it would be incredible to bring them to the Big 12 along with Louisville. The basketball would be insane.
And if you can get the basketball schools to leave, you make it untenable for the other left-behinds to try to keep their conference. Now we are able to pick who we want from the Pitt, NC State, Virginia Tech types of the league.
I'm sure they have ironclad contracts and a whole zoo full of lawyers reviewing the contracts but are we 100% sure the media deal has the escalator only for FB school adds. It would be funny if the Big 12 got the full escalator for adding a school to the conference as a full member who didn't have FB. Then they pay Gonzaga what they should get for providing content without FB - and split the rest of the windfall between the other 12 members.
And, yes I know that Big 12 bylaws require full members to have a football program but the Big 12 members can change their own rules whenever they want to.
And, yes I know that Big 12 bylaws require full members to have a football program but the Big 12 members can change their own rules whenever they want to.
Not against Gonzaga, but unless we are going to add Pac12 schools I'm not sure I see the fit for Gonzaga. BYU would their closest opponent and I would assume if we add Gonzaga it's not just MBB, but all their sports.
I am not crazy about adding schools that don't have football because I believe we will eventually see a P3 and I would prefer the Big12 create a 20-24 team conference based on schools that offer FB. If the Big12 eventually adds some Pac teams, then I could see Gonzaga as a fit.
I applaud Yormark for turning over every stone to see where the Big12 can create revenue. I would be curious what he thinks college sports will look like in 5 years, 10 years & 15 years. There is so much up in the air right now with college sports, that long-range planning probably feels like throwing darts in the dark with NIL, Realignment, New Media Platforms, NCAA Reform, Student Athlete Employee Status, etc.
I thought for the Big12 to get the full escalator any future Big12 adds must be current P5 teams.
Also, Yormark has repeated spoken about having Media Partners. That could be PR spin, but if he is true to his word he isn't going to pull one over on ESPN/Fox. I am convinced and teams we add to the Big12 will be approved by our Media Partners. They must add more $ for Big12 and add more $ for ESPN/Fox.
