Should Big 12 Really Swing for the Fences?

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A few days ago, Bill Connelly posted an article suggesting that the Big 12 should "swing for the fences" and invite 6 new schools. Yeah, that's right. Half a dozen. CUSA expansion numbers. The schools he suggested the Big 12 publicly invite were Florida State, Miami, Clemson, Louisville, BYU, and Notre Dame. While this is obviously just speculation on his part, I suppose the idea is worth entertaining.

With the unbelievable speed that the realignment telephone game picked up on FSU's supposed displeasure with the new ACC television deal, they appear to be at least entertaining the idea of Big 12 glory. Will they be this year's A&M and knock the dominoes down? Your guess is as good as any. Would they make a good fit for the Big 12? It would certainly be intriguing and they would the talent-rich recruiting ground to match the SEC.

The same could be said for Miami and Clemson. Sure, they bring some new regions to the conference but not sure how Clemson/Iowa State games would really go over with fans. Louisville, on the other hand, has been talked about for sometime as a potential target for the Big 12. They bring the previous rivalry with West Virginia, a sizable market, and a top-tier basketball program. Looks like Clemson may be the second team, should the Big 12 only expand by 2.

That leaves the two independents, BYU and Notre Dame. Both would be huge prizes for any conference and they have already shown that they are immune to any type of geographical restraint. Would they be good fits for the Big 12? Absolutely. Will they actually end up there? Probably not both. They have too much pride to be in the same conference. They each think they are the better version of the other.

The major problem with any of this expansion talk is really how Texas feels about it. Would they be willing to bring in potentially huge schools like Notre Dame or FSU? Perhaps. It would certainly seem to go against their previous stance on expansion though.

While Connelly himself says that "the odds of this move succeeding would be minimal," it is still an interesting idea. So if the Big 12 really did swing for the fences, would they really hit it out of the park? Odds are they would swing and miss.