Big 12 to Begin Exploring Conference Expansion

The Big 12 announced Tuesday at media days that they will immediately begin exploring possible expansion candidates in a vote that was reportedly unanimous. 

Oklahoma President David Boren, a strong and consistent voice who has advocated for expansion and a television network, announced the decision in a teleconference late Tuesday afternoon.

“It’s a forward step, a positive step,” David Boren said via ESPN.com. “Not yet a decision, but it shows momentum on the board to consider [expansion] as a possibility.”

As for the number of schools in expansion, the number of schools that could be added to the conference is said to be between 2 and 4.

Additionally, Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said that a vote regarding conference expansion could conceivably take place at the board’s regularly scheduled meeting set to take place in October, alluding to the fact that conference expansion could happen as early as the 2017 season.

“We’ve been contacted by a number of institutions, and I would imagine after this news breaks we’ll be contacted again,” Bowlsby said to ESPN.

No doubt there will be plenty to come calling. We’ll see how it shakes out, but it appears there’s more than just smoke in the wake of Big 12 expansion and real results could come sooner rather than later.