Big Ten Conference
ROSEMONT, IL (WSAU) — It’s been 10 years since the Big Ten Conference added Nebraska, Maryland, and Rutgers to go from an 11-school league to 14, and now another reshuffling of the deck appears nigh.
The Big 12 Conference may lose losing two of its founding members- Texas and Oklahoma- to the Southeastern Conference. A move that’s expected to set off a domino effect that will end with the Big 12 breaking apart completely and the other so-called Power Five leagues swelling into superconferences including the Big Ten who will reportedly be talking with Kansas and Iowa State this weekend.
Kansas is going through one of its worst stretches in football but remains a Men’s basketball power. Their women’s basketball team hasn’t won more than 5 games in a single league season for the last five years, including an 0-18 season in 2015-’16.
Iowa State has seen recent success on the football field including a 27-21 loss to Oklahoma in last year’s league title game. They also play an annual game against in-state rival Iowa for the Cy-Hawk Trophy. Join the league would likely turn that game from a non-conference affair to a Big Ten West Division battle.
The news was first reported by Kansas insider Mike Vernon on Twitter:
There is a sense that Iowa State is involved with the Big Ten as well.
KU has the head start here and would be trying to bring ISU along, if anything. https://t.co/0eWTGrjfeU
— Mike Vernon (@M_Vernon) July 23, 2021
Another report indicated the remaining Big 12 schools in Texas- Baylor, TCU, and Texas Tech are in discussions with the PAC 12. Having all eight remaining schools join the PAC 12 to form a 20-school super league was also said to have been proposed.
It was first reported on Thursday that Texas and OU have been in private discussions with the SEC for about six months; discussions that not even the Longhorns former in-state rival Texas A&M were aware of. On Friday multiple reports indicated that a formal announcement of the move will happen within the next two weeks, though the timetable for when the shift will take place is still being ironed out.
Kansas State, Oklahoma State, and West Virginia would also be left without a conference home should the Big 12 implode. OSU officials have already released a statement expressing their disappointment in their neighbors from Norman not including them in the discussion, saying “While we place a premium on history, loyalty, and trust, be assured we will aggressively defend and advance what is best for Oklahoma State.”
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