Even though TCU officially becomes a member of the Big 12 beginning in 2012, the internal debate continues within the conference as to whether the Big 12 should stay at 10, or get back to its title-indicative number. Although interim commissioner Chuck Neinas has stated the conference is waiting to see which direction Missouri takes before making a choice, the Big 12 could still expand by two more teams even if the Tigers stay.
If the Big 12 expands again, it’s thought that two more Big East members -- Louisville and West Virginia -- have the best chances of getting the final invitations. But, that hasn’t stopped San Diego State athletic director Jim Sterk from pleading his school’s case to take one of those spots.
“We’ve been proactive as far as getting information out and just making sure their folks know what a valuable commodity San Diego State is,” Sterk told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “We’ve been able to show how well we capture the San Diego television market in the last couple of years and have a program that’s really on the rise and have a lot of things going for it.”
San Diego is “as close to Austin (Texas) as Provo, Utah (BYU) and a heck of a lot easier to get to,” Sterk added, but also admitted that the Big 12 appears to be “looking more east than west and staying in their footprint right now.”
It’s interesting that Sterk referenced the travel necessary to and from Austin, the home of the University of Texas. Texas had been a powerful entity with a lot of say when Dan Beebe was still commissioner, but now that Neinas has been serving as a consultant of sorts, we’ve seen UT compromise a lot more than they ever had under Beebe.
Case in point, TCU’s invite and the Longhorn Network’s agreement to ban all youth programming, including news-like highlights, as long as Big 12 members grant their television rights to the conference (so, for the next six years).
Does that mean in any way that SDSU has a chance of landing in the Big 12? As CBS’ Dennis Dodd pointed out last week via Twitter, Neinas could very well have struck a deal with Texas: give up high school content and allow TCU -- reportedly a Big 12 favorite -- to join, and the expansion will stop at 10.
Whether that was actually the case, the number 10 has still resonated beyond Big 12 country.
“I think they are comfortable from what I hear at 10 with less mouths to feed right now (in revenue-sharing),” Sterk said.
Still, there’s something to be said for expanding into southern California, but TCU’s invitation to the Big 12 was a refreshing addition that, for once, wasn’t centered around television markets -- Dallas/Ft. Worth is already saturated with all things Texas and Oklahoma -- and expanding the geographical footprint.