The Big 12 received its long-awaited approval to hold a championship game as a 10-team league on Wednesday. Despite that, Oklahoma president David Boren came out Wednesday evening in favor of expanding the league even with the knowledge it is no longer a required for a so-called 13th data point.
“The Big 12 is disadvantaged when compared to the other conferences in three ways. We do not have at least twelve members, we do not have a conference network, and we do not have a championship game,” Boren said in a statement to the Oklahoma Daily. “I think that all three of these disadvantages need to be addressed at the same time. Addressing only one without addressing all three will not be adequate to improve the strength of the conference.”
Boren is a rabble rouser that has effected change within the league before. It was his comments during the fall of 2011 that finally gave Missouri its courage to jump to the SEC. And it was Boren’s blame of then-commissioner Dan Beebe that pushed him out of the conference.
“I appreciate that what was acted upon today takes into account our unique 10-team, full round-robin scheduling model. However, this vote does not automatically mean the Big 12 will implement a football championship game,” Boren added.
Big 12 executives are set to meet Feb. 4. We already know which way Oklahoma’s CEO leans. If Cincinnati, Memphis, BYU, Houston or the like find an invitation in the inbox in the near future, they’ll know where to send the thank-you card.