Via NewsOK’s Ryan Aber, Oklahoma president David Boren said that he thinks that the Big 12 should expand back to 12 teams, if the right fit comes along. The most interesting thing is that Boren affirmed something that I think most of us (I certainly forgot) that the television payments grows proportionally, which means that if an 11th or 12th member would stay the same as the original 10 members would receive:

“The contract says that our main television contract … if we grow from 10 to 11 or 11 to 12, their payments to us grow proportionally,” Boren said. “So everybody’s share stays the same. If it’s ‘X’ dollars, it stays ‘X’ dollars.

Boren went on to say that the current model of just having 10 teams may be debilitating fo the donference long-term:

“I think it’s something we should strive for while we have the time, stability, all of that to look and be choosy,” Boren said. “(We) can be very selective about who we want to add. It would have to add value to the conference. I think we should.”

Boren said he’s worried about not only the perception of the league as other major conferences have expanded but there long-term health of such a setup.

“How many years can this go on?” Boren said. “Finally, it just gets to be really debilitating. I worry about that. That’s something I just worry about long-term about the conference, not short term.”

Oh, and Borne also affirmed that the Longhorn Network has been and is a major detriment to the current issues that the conference is having in starting a conference network:

“The elephant in the room remains the network south of us that has struggled and has in a way as long as it’s (been) there,” Boren said. “And we have done quite well with our network and if anything ever changed, it has value to it which we see. But someday, maybe we’ll get past that other problem as well. It’s a problem.”

DMN’s Chuck Carlton talked with Big 12 Commissioner, Bob Bowlsby, who said that Boren’s comments about expansion doe not reflect the majority of the other Big 12 president:

“I have not got the indication that the majority of our presidents feel that way. I get the feeling that nothing has changed since we last discussed it.”

My Thoughts:

1. There’s parts of me that think a 10 member Big 12 is as good as it gets because the other schools that could be added aren’t just that great. A lot of folks have held onto the idea that if we wait just long enough, the Pac-12 will come calling, bring in the four teams that were “supposed” to go to the Pac-16, UT, OU, OSU and Texas Tech, and we’re West Coast. Personally, I think that ship has sailed and it’s like waiting for the pretty girl to break-up with her boyfriend. Eventually, you’re going to miss out on your own thing waiting for someone else.

2. With that being said, a 10 member Big 12 is dumb for name purposes. How about that hot taek?

3. I’ve also thought the Big 12 should just go ahead and pull the trigger because I think the Big 12 is behind the 8-ball and it’s just a matter of time before teams are scooped up by other conferences.

4. I think that Boren’s timing is really interesting. Anyone else think that it’s a coincidence that Boren makes these comments with rumors about Texas and their athletic department appearing to be in complete chaos? I don’t. If there was ever a time that Texas wasn’t at it’s strongest, it’s now and Texas is one of the lynch pins.

5. I find Bowlsby’s comments absolutely worthless.

6. If the Big 12 expands, they need to go big or go home. CFB Huddle has a plan for a 6 team expansion, including BYU, Boise State, Cincinnati, Northern Illinois, Central Florida, and South Florida with the divisions being East and West.

West: Baylor, Boise State, BYU, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas and Texas Tech
East: Cincinnati, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas state, Northern Illinois, UCF, USF, West Virginia

7. This is generally what I’m talking about and I could be talked into trading out a program here or there, like trading out Boise State for Colorado State or going with Memphis instead of USF or whatever. I think Tulane’s been mentioned or UConn as a possibility. Still, this is the idea for me.