Examining Future Options for the Big 12 & WVU

Looking into the future plans for WVU and the Big 12 conference.

Rumors continue to swirl as to what’s next for the Big 12 conference with Texas and Oklahoma leaving in favor of the SEC. The remaining Big 12 schools are concerned with potential revenue, as Texas and Oklahoma were estimated to account for north of 50% of the conference’s value. Will the Power Five continue? Will it decrease to the Power Four?

West Virginia head coach Neal Brown added to the uncertainty when discussing the conference realignment with the media. Brown stated, “I have no crystal ball. I have no idea how it's going to play out. What I do know though is West Virginia, for a really long time, has been in a bunch of different conferences but played at a high level. The success of our men's basketball program and our football program will dictate that we will be in a good landing spot. We're in the Big 12. We're getting ready to play the Big 12. We're happy members there and it's not going to affect anything we are doing this year. That's how I've talked to our guys about it is we've been in several conferences but the one common is we play football at a high level here and we've handled those changes and we will do that moving forward as well."

Luckily, there’s plenty of time to figure out a plan moving forward, as Texas and Oklahoma will have to finish out their four-year commitment to the conference. Let’s look at what could be in store for West Virginia and the rest of the Big 12 Conference in the future.

Merge with the PAC-12

The remaining eight Big 12 teams could merge with the PAC-12 in a few years. This would create the NCAA’s first 20-team football conference. Although travel could be an issue, the new conference could schedule teams with closer locations to play each other. The idea of a 20-team conference with teams as far west as California and as far east as West Virginia may feel far-fetched, although it could be one of the likelier options at this point. Money is the main factor when making these decisions, and this could be a way to increase potential upside for both conferences.

Addition of American Schools

Although they lost plenty of star power in Texas and Oklahoma, the Big 12 is still considered a Power Five conference at the moment. That gives them plenty of power over non-Power Five conferences, including the American. There are several schools that have been looking to move into a Power Five conference - UCF, Houston, Cincinnati - and this could be their best opportunity.

Addition of independents/other schools

The Big 12 could look to add schools outside of the American to their conference in the coming years, as well. There’s been plenty of talks about Boise State leaving the Mountain West, although it’s yet to happen. Joining the Big 12 could give them a significantly larger spotlight on their program. BYU is an independent school and could look to join the Big 12 if they need depth. The major issue with this solution is that the struggling conference isn’t adding much star power, leaving plenty of financial uncertainty to the conference.

Move forward with current teams

The final, and least likely option is that the Big 12 moves forward with only eight teams. It seems as though the teams remaining in the conference want to stick together, although this could change in the coming years. If that’s the case, they could move forward with an eight-team conference that lost its top two teams in Texas and Oklahoma. This situation may make the least financial sense, suggesting it’s the least likely to occur. 

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