The Roundtable: Big 12 is set to expand... Now what?

Chris Level: I think the Big 12 will for sure add two; it makes sense for divisions and the newly added conference championship game.

In terms of expansion targets, a twosome of Cincinnati and BYU or Cincinnati and Connecticut are what I expect you will hear the most about. Cincinnati and BYU have had sustained success and appear to be the most Power Five-ready of the available teams. Connecticut is a program that the television partners have a huge interest.

Looking for a wild card? How about Colorado State? Keep an eye on the Rams.

I was really surprised at yesterday's news from the Big 12, but things appear to be moving forward whether any of us thinks it's a good idea or not. Money always wins out. Always.

Aaron Dickens: I was pleasantly surprised yesterday when the Big 12 all but announced that it would be expanding. I halfway expected the league to draw out its will-they-or-won't-they expansion dance indefinitely. Now that expansion is a reality? Let's get weird.

Let's acknowledge the inherent truth about this situation. This is, first and foremost, a money grab. None of the available candidates add value to the Big 12, otherwise the league would have expanded earlier. Yet, thanks to existing pro rata clauses in the conference's media deals and the willingness of candidate schools to take a smaller share of revenue, Big 12 teams stand to make money by adding teams. More teams, more money. Indeed, the league could earn an additional $1 billion over the course of its current media deals if it grows to 14.

Here is what I would do. First, I would expand the Big 12 to 14 by inviting Cincinnati and Connecticut as full members and BYU and Boise State as football-only members. Then, I would split the league into two seven-team divisions and implement permanent cross-division rivalries that ensure, no matter the divisional makeup, games like Texas-Oklahoma, TCU-Baylor, Oklahoma State-Oklahoma, Texas Tech-Texas and Kansas State-Kansas are played every year. Finally? Cash those checks.

Will McKay: First and foremost, hallelujah. It may have taken the ACC's latest moves, finalizing plans for a network and extending its grant of rights till kingdom come, to jolt the Big 12 into action, but now expansion is on the way.

I think most will say the number to expand to is likely 12, but I say put the pedal to the metal and make it 14. That way the Big 12 isn't left with the scraps if/when the rest of the Power Five conferences expand to 16 in the coming years. By going to 14 now, the Big 12 will have their choice of the cream of the crop - such that it is - of the remaining group of five schools, and all those schools would likely crawl on glass to get a spot at the table right now. The Big 12 is the belle of the ball.

So, which schools? I would go with BYU, Cincinnati, Memphis and Colorado State. BYU has a fantastic athletic history in both football and basketball, and they have a uniquely national fanbase because of the Mormon faith. That's the no-brainer. Cincinnati is a school in a big Midwest city, somewhere new the Big 12 can expand its footprint, and the Bearkats are traditionally successful in basketball and football as well. Memphis has the monetary backing of FedEx, something the Big 12 could use, they plant the Big 12's flag in the South and they add a quality basketball program with a football program on the up and up with big potential. Then, my wildcard choice is Colorado State. The Rams have done some good things lately athletically, and on top of that they'd add the Denver market. They add a regional team for BYU to take on, too.

So, those four are who I'd take. Whatever they do, however they go about it, don't touch Houston with a ten-foot pole. That's my one request if I'm a current Big 12 team in the state of Texas.

Matt Clare: How many and who?

I'm not sure if you heard, but conference realignment is the talk of the town again. This time things are "serious" or, at least, more serious than before. It's too early to tell. The ACC recently announced the conference has extended their TV rights through 2036 and that the ACC Network would launch by 2019. I feel this caused some the conversations between the Big 12 power brokers to become a lot more immediate and a lot more serious.

Baylor grabbed most of the Big 12 off-season headlines, and for all of the wrong reasons. There were some around the Big 12 almost demanding answers from the Baylor administration only two weeks ago. Now, on the final day of the Big 12 Media Days, it seems all is well and the conference's members have unanimously agreed to continue exploring conference realignment.

You can't make this stuff up, I promise. The Wizard himself, Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder, even said that two former Big 12 teams he knows of would like to come back.

Oh yeah? How many and who?

I'm going with two new teams: Memphis and Cincinnati. This won't really impress anyone, but I think it's the least risky additions in terms of tradition, fan base, facilities, and location.

Deciding how many or which teams for this question was tough, but think about expansion from a Texas Tech perspective. Most could argue that adding two teams and reverting back to the two division, 12-team conference would be a huge plus for the Red Raiders. The program's best seasons in recent history all came in a 12-team league.

Drew Kohnle: The Big 12 is actively pursuing expansion. Why? To keep up with the other four Power Five conferences that are already reaping the rewards of 12-plus member conferences. Simply put, the Big 12 is trying to catch up.

There are no real exciting options on the table, honestly, with the exception of maybe BYU. If the Big 12 can somehow grab the Cougars as a football-only school, I think going for 14 members should be their next goal. The Big 12 expanding is only a stopgap, so why not go big and add four new members for the time being?

In my opinion, the next best options after BYU are Cincinnati, Memphis and then Central Florida. If BYU is out of the picture, I’d fall back to adding just two members. Faced with that decision, I would go after Cincinnati and Memphis and call it a day.

If the Big 12 expands – which seems likely at this point – it officially becomes beer goggle season, and the Big 12 could do much worse than a school located in a solid TV market and a school making plenty of money from one of their main sponsors.

Things could be worse, right?