The Austin-American Statesman shared this news.
It sounds like there is no real structure to the idea yet, but I like anyone in sports who is willing to think outside of the box and try to explore new ways of doing things.
It sounds like there is no real structure to the idea yet, but I like anyone in sports who is willing to think outside of the box and try to explore new ways of doing things.
Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said the league is actively exploring a possible alliance with the Atlantic Coast Conference and two other unspecified leagues for the purposes of scheduling, marketing and possibly even television partnerships, an arrangement that might prevent further expansion.
“We’ve had conversations with three other leagues,” Bowlsby told the American-Statesman on Friday afternoon. “The ACC is one of them. It’s a process of discovery that would provide some of the benefits of larger membership without actually adding members.”
Bowlsby declined to name the other two leagues, but the Pac-12 Conference is presumed to be one of them because that 12-team league faces significant geographical obstacles to expansion. The Pac-12 and Big Ten had announced the framework for a similar alliance more than a year ago, but the arrangement didn’t come to fruition.
Bowlsby said the possibilities for alliances and expansion would be discussed during a two-day gathering of the Big 12 athletic directors that begins Monday in Grapevine. He stressed, however, that “certainly nothing is imminent” regarding a potential alliance with another conference. Bowlsby was scheduled to be in Austin on Saturday to address a group of aspiring athletic directors who are part of a sports-management institute.
Asked if a consensus to stand pat at 10 members remains in place within the Big 12, Bowlsby said, “I haven’t had any indication that is not the case. We want to do this by empirical evidence, not gut reaction. That may lead us back to 10 (teams) or somewhere else.”
A partnership between the Big 12 and other leagues would include football and basketball, but it could expand to other sports. The agreement also could involve participation between the leagues in bowl games to “share post-season inventory, allowing us more flexibility” to set up attractive matchups.
“It’s purely exploratory,” said Bowlsby, who added that the leagues involved have had “multiple discussions” about the subject.
Bowlsby said the potential move should not be interpreted as a precursor to future expansion in light of the SEC’s additions of Texas A&M; and Missouri and the Big Ten’s more recent move to invite Maryland from the ACC and Rutgers from the Big Ten.
“If anything, it’s the opposite,” Bowlsby said. “You can begin to get some advantages without taking on any of the disadvantages (of expansion). It’s one option that allows benefits. It’s kind of like friends with benefits.”
“We’ve had conversations with three other leagues,” Bowlsby told the American-Statesman on Friday afternoon. “The ACC is one of them. It’s a process of discovery that would provide some of the benefits of larger membership without actually adding members.”
Bowlsby declined to name the other two leagues, but the Pac-12 Conference is presumed to be one of them because that 12-team league faces significant geographical obstacles to expansion. The Pac-12 and Big Ten had announced the framework for a similar alliance more than a year ago, but the arrangement didn’t come to fruition.
Bowlsby said the possibilities for alliances and expansion would be discussed during a two-day gathering of the Big 12 athletic directors that begins Monday in Grapevine. He stressed, however, that “certainly nothing is imminent” regarding a potential alliance with another conference. Bowlsby was scheduled to be in Austin on Saturday to address a group of aspiring athletic directors who are part of a sports-management institute.
Asked if a consensus to stand pat at 10 members remains in place within the Big 12, Bowlsby said, “I haven’t had any indication that is not the case. We want to do this by empirical evidence, not gut reaction. That may lead us back to 10 (teams) or somewhere else.”
A partnership between the Big 12 and other leagues would include football and basketball, but it could expand to other sports. The agreement also could involve participation between the leagues in bowl games to “share post-season inventory, allowing us more flexibility” to set up attractive matchups.
“It’s purely exploratory,” said Bowlsby, who added that the leagues involved have had “multiple discussions” about the subject.
Bowlsby said the potential move should not be interpreted as a precursor to future expansion in light of the SEC’s additions of Texas A&M; and Missouri and the Big Ten’s more recent move to invite Maryland from the ACC and Rutgers from the Big Ten.
“If anything, it’s the opposite,” Bowlsby said. “You can begin to get some advantages without taking on any of the disadvantages (of expansion). It’s one option that allows benefits. It’s kind of like friends with benefits.”
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