I continually find it funny that so many folks feel that any of the "usual expansion suspects" are not worthy of being in the same neighborhood as WVU and our other "elite" brethren. Get real. If that were the case....why would Rutgers be in the Big 10, Vanderbilt be in the SEC, and a long list of schools in the ACC including Louisville? Or for that matter...why would Kansas, Iowa State, Texas Tech and WVU be in the Big 12(12-2=10)?
Connecticut would bring a lot NY and New England eyeballs from that population complex. Cincinnati cuts into the midwest, and with success, would grow TV there as well. For that matter UCF and USF would dramatically alter the potential ratings for any network bellying up to the money bar.
Wouldn't be surprised to see the Big 12 go "big" and include all four to build the case for even stronger future contracts.
The "not worthy of us" argument is self defeating for the Big 12 in the long run.
Rutgers was brought on for TV sets...that's it. They are an obvious step down from the B10 elite programs and they don't care. They fit the financial model of the BTN....just like Maryland.
Vandy has been an SEC member forever, and remember there was a time that the blue chip states for recruiting were in the rust belt and that's where the best teams were. The SEC in the 70's was just another conference. Therefore, Vandy is pretty much grandfathered into the SEC. They would be in the Sun Belt now if they weren't called Vandy and had to find a conference based on performance and demographics.
UL was worthy of a P5 conference. They ended up in the ACC because of basketball (and that they weren't from WV).
The B12 group you mentioned (besides WVU) have been in other manifestations of this conference (SWAC, Big 8), so it was kind of a Vandy thing there.
WVU was pure survival-ism of both ends. We needed out and the B12 needed anyone that could come in and fill that 10th spot in order to not lose the TV contract.
With no conference network in sight, UConn brings nothing. (Small school, poor facilities, poor recruiting, overlapping TV market with Rutgers and Syracuse, mediocre program short and long term, longish trip for us and super-long trip for the rest of the B12). Awful choice IMO.
UCF is hands down the best team available right now for what the B12 needs. You can just add them and drop an OOC game and keep the RR format if you want. Build them up and then wait for the GOR to expire. Place them at 1/2 member share of the money and they will be happy to do so for the next decade while the conference gets a full share. If other teams shake out of the ACC, then we can pick up the best options at that point to even the schedule out eventually. The B1G did 11 teams for years and were fine with it.
