Big 12 Championship in 2017. Addition of New Programs?
After a few years of not having a championship game for the Big 12, they board has unanimously decided to create one. This problem came to light in 2014 when the conference did not have a team in the Playoff.
If you know the story of TCU and Baylor fighting for the playoff spot in 2014, just skip past this next paragraph.
If you'll recall back to the inaugural year of the College Football Playoff, there was a great deal of controversy surrounding the seeding of the top four teams with and the first two out. Alabama (1), Oregon (2), and Florida State (4) had punched their ticket to the playoff after winning their respective conference championships. TCU was at three and assumed they were going to the playoff without a conference championship. TCU and Baylor were named Co-Big 12 Champions. Baylor had beaten TCU earlier in the year, but suffered a loss to West Virginia. This meant that the Bears felt that they should have a higher seed than TCU. While all of that was happening, Ohio State decided to shut out Wisconsin in the Big 10 Championship game 53-0.
Week 15: Before Conference Championships
The blowout plus and undefeated Florida State were enough to push the Big 12 out of Championship contention.
Week 16: After Conference Championships
The first Big 12 Championship will be played at the conclusion of the 2017 regular season. So here is the question. Will they add teams to the conference? If they add, there will have to be at least two new schools to split the conference into two six-team divisions.
My assumption that if they do add two new programs, they will be from some of the Group of 5 conferences (AAC, Conference USA, Sun Belt). There have been rumors about certain schools that may receive an invitation like UCF. I completely disagree with that decision. I am a firm believer that a school should be somewhat close to where the thick of the action takes place. The schools would have to be somewhere from the mid-west. Here are my top five choices for schools that could and should be brought into the Power 5.
(Note: These are in no particular order)
1. Marshall University
Marshall is a storied program. Not just from the movie, but they constantly have good seasons. They have missed only two bowl games since 2010 and have had double digit wins in the past three seasons. Not only would it help the conference stretch a bit farther geographically, but it would help with the conference financially. Marshall vs. West Virginia would be a much better game to watch on rivalry weekend rather than throwing it away at the beginning of the season.
2. Houston
Believe it or not, some people are giving them a shot to go the the playoff this year. If they put together another solid regular-season campaign and remain ranked, it is more than likely they would receive and invitation to join the Big 12. Houston is in the Heart of Big 12 country and it would make for a much more interesting recruiting season in Texas as a whole.
3. BYU
Personally, I am sick of these Independents. Man up and join a conference. BYU is a program that can never seem to get over the hump and become a national contender. They hover between #20 and being unranked for most of the regular season. The school would benefit greatly from joining a Power 5 conference. Better recruiting pull and better financial stability would just be the tip of the iceberg for Brigham Young.
4. Boise State
Boise State has been in and out of the rankings more often than I care to look up. They are one of the Group of 5 teams that you would expect to see get an "At Large" bid come bowl selection. Right now, Boise State runs the Mountain West Conference. They consistently pull good talent and have a proven record to show for it. This is one of the choices that makes the most sense to me, minus the distance between the majority of Big 12 teams.
5. Cincinnati
Cincinnati is constantly in a bowl game (even if they lose them more often than not). They have produced a great deal of talent and they put a Big 12 team in a state that is mostly run by a Power 5 Powerhouse (OSU). Cincinnati is one of the other teams in the talk for getting to join the big boys. Who knows? They may jump ship for greener pastures.
