READ TODAY'S STORIES AND E-EDITION SUBSCRIBE |  CONTACT US |  SIGN IN
Sports Extra!



SPORTS EXTRA BLOGS

FOR THE RECORD
LOCAL PROS

ALL SPORTS

PHOTOS & VIDEOS

OUTDOORS

FIND A STORY

EMAIL ALERTS

SOCIAL MEDIA

RSS FEEDS

CONTACT US
BUY PHOTOS & PAGES

ADVERTISE ON SPORTS EXTRA


Print story only Print story with comments Email Twitter Facebook Pinterest
No Perfect Fits for Big 12
Published: 10/26/2011 3:42 PM
Last Modified: 10/26/2011 3:42 PM

The Big 12 seems to be the salvation for teams desperate to get out of the Big East.
Certainly, anything is better than staying in the Big East these days - even the Big 12.
So, West Virginia, Louisville and anyone else with a pulse is trying to get into the Big 12.
Big 12 teams need to ask whether any of those schools add any value to the league?
West Virginia certainly has a football program that you could say is a pretty solid replacement for Missouri or Texas A&M. That’s not the case for Louisville, who is apparently using political games to get involved.
Either way, none of the Big East teams would seem to fit the geography of the Big 12.
TCU fit perfectly into the Big 12 footprint and we’ll see if the Frogs can continue to play football at a high level.
Lousville, West Virginia and all of the others don’t appear to be good fits, for one reason or another.
But, the Big 12 has learned it can’t sit still. It has to jump into some deals and it isn’t likely to be perfect.
All of the perfect schools to fit into the Big 12, like Nebraska and Texas A&M, are long gone.





Reader Comments 3 Total
Blue&Gold (last year)
I disagree, I don't think Louisville and WVa are so far away that they can't fit. Maybe conferences need to go to a geographic rights model much like a TV broadcast network. Colorado fits into the Pac-12 about as much as WVa fits into the Big XII and Pittsburgh fits into the ACC.
iwanagap (last year)
I don't understand why the Big 12 isn't looking at USF and UCF. Take a look and judge for yourself. Did you know that Tampa Bay, Orlando, and Miami rank in the top 20 largest TV markets in the country? Did you know the state of Florida consistently ranks in the top 3 recruiting grounds along with Texas and California?

University of South Florida
(USF)
Enrollment: 47,122 (8th largest in the country)
Stadium Name: Raymond James Stadium (where Tampa Bay Buccaneers play)
Stadium Size: 65,857

University of Central Florida (UCF)
Enrollment: 56,337 (2nd largest in the country)
Stadium Name: Bright House Networks Stadium
Stadium Size: 45,301
iwanagap (last year)
Here is how I would setup the new Big 12. First, I would not put all of the Texas schools in the same division. Second, I would make each of the schools play one “rivalry” game each year from the other division (just like the SEC). This would insure the preservation of the OU/Texas rivalry game without having them in the same division. The old Big 12 North and South divisions were too heavily weighted to the South division.

WEST
OU
OSU
KSU
Kansas
Baylor
+ TCU

EAST
Texas
TT
ISU
+ Louisville
+ South Florida
+ Central Florida
3 comments displayed


To post comments on tulsaworld.com, you must be an active Tulsa World print or digital subscriber and signed into your account.


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.

Follow John Klein on Twitter

Subscribe to this blog



Archive

 
John Klein's Blog Archive:

2/2013  1/2013  12/2012  11/2012  10/2012  9/2012  
8/2012  7/2012  6/2012  5/2012  4/2012  3/2012  
2/2012  1/2012  12/2011  11/2011  10/2011  9/2011  
8/2011  7/2011  6/2011  5/2011  4/2011  3/2011  
2/2011  1/2011  12/2010  11/2010  10/2010  9/2010  
8/2010  7/2010  6/2010  5/2010  4/2010  3/2010  
2/2010  1/2010  12/2009  11/2009  10/2009  9/2009  
8/2009  7/2009  6/2009  5/2009  4/2009  3/2009  
2/2009  1/2009  12/2008  11/2008  10/2008  9/2008  
8/2008  7/2008  6/2008  5/2008  4/2008  3/2008  
2/2008  1/2008  12/2007  11/2007  10/2007  9/2007  
8/2007  7/2007  6/2007  5/2007  4/2007  3/2007  
2/2007  1/2007  12/2006  11/2006  10/2006  9/2006  
8/2006  





Home | Contact Us | Search | Subscribe | Customer Service | About | Advertise
Copyright © 2013, World Publishing Co. All rights reserved.