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Big 12 Search for Members
Published: 9/21/2011 4:02 PM
Last Modified: 9/21/2011 6:22 PM


OSU President Burns Hargis talks to the media on Wednesday. STEPHEN PINGRY/Tulsa World

Oklahoma State President Burns Hargis, who had been actively involved in Big 12 Conference expansion before the latest Pac-12 rumors surfaced, said Wednesday he’s looking forward to building a new league.

Hargis said he is ready to start tackling the expansion of the league and he hoped that the Big 12 could change Texas A&M’s mind about leaving for the SEC.

He said he preferred a 10 or 12-team league meaning the league, depending upon whether A&M can be convinced to stay, will need to add from one to three teams.

When asked about possibilities, the first school Hargis mentioned is TCU.

TCU has been the school that has been often mentioned by OSU booster T. Boone Pickens.

Hargis said other candidates are the same ones that have been mentioned in previous media reports such as Houston and BYU.

However, before any expansion can be addressed, there will have to be tough decisions made about revenue sharing. That has been a primary reason for the loss of three teams - Nebraska to the Big Ten, Colorado to the Pac-12 and Texas A&M to the SEC.

Until those issues are resolved, including the regulation of the Longhorn Network, the Big 12 will be saddled with an uncertain future.



Reader Comments 6 Total
pnut (last year)
Replace Texas and A&M with Houston and TCU. Two more after that to retain the "Big 12" name. Utah and BYU?
z1590 (last year)
Let's get to The Meat & Potatoes of the situation: The Big 12 CAN SURVIVE!

#1 Eveverybody and Mizzou stay put
#2 Replace Texas A&M with TCU
#3 Replace the gap Nebraska and Colorado had last year with Boisie State and BYU

May GOD Bless The Big 12:)

I'm off the mic.
Rain Dancer (last year)
University of Louisville would be a good catch.
tomintulsa (last year)
I agree with TCU but I think Houston would be a great addition to get us back to 12. Getting to play a game every other year in one of the best recruiting areas could be huge. The 12th pick is wide open. Like Boise State, Air Force or BYU. In fact let's take Boise State and BYU and dump Texass.
discountman1 (last year)
Why do we need another Texas team? If all this is about money, we need to look at TV markets. Why not look at Cincinnati? They are in the middle of Ohio and would represent more television coverage than any of the teams they are talking about. BYU makes sense because of the national following they have. Why not raid the Pac 12 and go after Arizona State. I am sure they would like to be in a conference that gives more money to each school.
Oilpatch (last year)
discountman1, this thread is pretty much played out, but I'll take a shot at your post anyway. First, do you have family in Cincinnati? There must be some reason for you to pull that one out of the hat.

I agree with tomintulsa that TCU and Houston would be the best bets and would leave one position open for a talent search. Both TCU and Houston bring in huge media markets that the Big 12 needs for recruiting. In particular, Houston would give the Big 12 a media presence in an area that is about to be taken over by the SEC. I've read a lot of posts here about this, but I really don't think people in Oklahoma grasp this point. I live in Houston and I can tell you that it is about to become a real threat to Big 12 recruiting when LSU comes in and joins with A&M and Arkansas. Houston is practically an extension of Louisiana, particularly with the back and forth of the oil businesses. There are LSU stickers all over this town. I see very few OU stickers. Better pay attention.
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Klein's Korner

Tulsa World senior sports columnist John Klein is in his fourth decade of covering sports. He started his newspaper career at The Daily Ardmoreite in 1977 and moved to the Tulsa World in 1978. He served 10 years as sports editor for the Tulsa World before being named to his current position in 2005. He also spent five years as the Southwest Conference beat writer for the Houston Post. He has won many writing awards and is a former Oklahoma Sports Writer of the Year.

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