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Big 12 commissioner explains what conference is looking for regarding potential expansion
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As the SEC and Big Ten expand to 16 teams shortly, all eyes are on the Big 12 and its future. Will the conference join in on the 16-team conversation?
According to new Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark, certain factors must be addressed for expansion talks to occur. The biggest? Time zone.
Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark was asked several times about expansion:
“ I love the composition of this conference. … We don’t have to expand, only if it’s additive, only if it creates value and only if it gets us into a fourth time zone." ?
— Matt Murschel (@osmattmurschel) October 26, 2022
The 4th time zone Yormark is talking about would relate to the Pacific Time Zone. Currently, the Big 12 has representatives in the Eastern Time Zone (West Virginia), and Central Time Zone (all other 9 schools).
The conference will expand to 14 teams for the 2023 season with the arrival of BYU (Moutain Time Zone), Cincinnati (Eastern), Central Florida (Eastern) and Houston (Central). Earlier this offseason, it was reported that Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah all could be considered options for the conference if looking for future expansion.
Of the 4 schools mentioned, all hail in the Mountain Time Zone. Could this mean Yormark is looking at programs in the Pacific Northwest such as Oregon and Washington? What about Oregon State and Washington State?
Cole Thompson is a freelance writer for Saturday Football who has covered college football and the NFL for multiple websites. Thompson is currently based in Houston, Texas, and also can be heard daily on SportsMap National Radio's 'Just Sayin It' from 3am-6am.
