Art Briles is open to the possibility of Big 12 expansion
Baylor coach Art Briles would support the Big 12 adding two teams if the league can keep the revenues for each team already in the league unchanged.
Briles made the comments on the Paul Finebaum Show. Via the Dallas Morning News:
“Let’s go,” Briles said. “If we can keep the same money, and the dollar bill runs it, but if we can keep the same money we’re giving our universities, I’m for it.”
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One of the possible hangups of the Big 12 adding teams is that the league's current revenue would be split 12 ways instead of 10, resulting in less money per team. The conference distributed an average of approximately $25 million to its 10 teams in 2014-2015. That's a figure about $6 million less than the average per-team revenue of SEC schools.
Oklahoma president David Boren supports a move to 12 teams and said the conference's TV contract could increase proportionally if the league expanded. The league has said it's currently comfortable at 10 teams and according to commissioner Bob Bowlsby, expansion isn't favored by the majority.
But the money may not be the biggest issue when it comes to expansion. It could be finding the right two teams. There aren't two clear-cut choices for the league to choose after the realignment carousel of the last few years. Briles realizes that too. Expansion discussion is going to continue to happen until the Big 12 makes a move, whether it's next year or in three years. While a move to allow conferences with 10 teams to have conference championship games is expected to be passed by the NCAA, the Big 12 may not install one without expansion because the league plays a nine-game schedule.
“It’s got to be a couple of schools who can really bring value to our conference from a national standpoint and keep us at the monetary level we are at,” Briles said. “I think that’s the issue that we’re looking at, just making sure everyone keeps the same dollar signs.”
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
