The chatter is getting louder.
And BYU may be getting closer to joining a Power Five conference.
This time, The Athletic is reporting that the Big 12 conference, which is trying to figure out how to stay afloat after members Texas and Oklahoma announced their upcoming departure for the Southeastern Conference, is “seriously discussing” BYU as a possible addition to the league.
A month ago, ESPN Analyst Heather Dinich said the Big 12 was already discussing adding BYU, Cincinnati and Houston. But there was another announcement a day earlier that changes the implications of the report: The Pac-12 announced on Thursday it would not be expanding the league.
With any hope of possibly joining the Pac-12 completely off the table, the Big 12′s remaining members should have extra incentive to expand their own ranks. According to The Athletic’s report, one of the main reasons the Big 12 should consider BYU is because of the independent program’s TV drawing power.
BYU’s median audience drawn for games between 2015-2019 was comparable to Big 12 teams, not counting games that included Texas or Oklahoma.
What would also help BYU’s case is that the Cougars “drew better numbers on those traditionally less-watched channels despite 15 of those broadcasts kicking off at 10 p.m. ET or later,” The Athletic said. The Big 12 currently doesn’t have any games kick off later than 8:30 p.m. ET, so adding BYU could allow the Big 12 to “open a new TV window, a possibility that provides greater value in a media rights negotiation,” The Athletic added.
At the end of the day, BYU just makes sense.
On Thursday, Barry Tramel of The Oklahoman wrote that “Industry sources have told me (Barry Tramel) BYU is the one no-brainer for Big 12 expansion.”
Later that day, Mac Engle of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram said “the Big 12 needs to add BYU. And Boise State. And Central Florida. And Cincinnati.”
On Friday, sports media company Outkick shared a conversation between its Outkick360 co-hosts about the state of the Big 12 and how BYU plays into the current situation.
Co-host Chad Withrow said he believes BYU’s best chance of winning a second national title would come from joining a conference.
“It’s a program that’s won a national title before and if they want to do it again, they’re not going to do it as an independent,” Withrow said. “... First off, BYU in the current Big 12, without Texas and Oklahoma when they leave, that’s a team that could win the Big 12. They’re right there.
But then co-host Jonathon Hutton brought up a different point: the Big 12 benefits from BYU, but does BYU benefit from the Big 12?
As the financial numbers show, BYU is already pretty much on par with the remaining Big 12 members.
“BYU can get that number anyway,” Hutton said. “I don’t understand why it makes sense to pair up with a conference that is not going to raise the tide of ratings with you. You’re benefitting the conference. What’s the conference giving you aside from a schedule every year?”
With a four-person subcommittee in the Big 12 meeting Friday to explore expansion, as per Dinich, answers could come sooner rather than later.
Should BYU be approached about joining the Big 12, will it join?
“There are benefits to BYU joining a conference, I’m not arguing that,” Hutton said. “From a Big 12 perspective, without Texas and Oklahoma, I don’t know why any school would be wanting to jump into that.”
