Big 12 Realignment...Not Done, Just on Hold

Remember these words..."If the Big 12 does expand, we will only consider schools in states that border our current schools".

Prophetic words from the Big 12 Commish that have gone unnoticed by the at large media every since Hurricane "Realignment" moved off the coast, causing little damage to the College Football Nation.

So I figured, if realignment every reared its ugly head again AND IT WILL, why not take a way too early look at the Big 12's options for expansion.

BIG 12 STATES: The Big 12 currently consists of five states: Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma. I intentionally left out the runaways states of Nebraska and Colorado because any realignment scenario would probably take place in five to seven years and by then Nebraska and Colorado will be sitting nice and comfy in their new homes in the Big Ten and PAC-10.

BORDER STATES: Here are the states that border the Big 12 (Lite): Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, and New Mexico.

From the 11 border states, I narrowed the schools down to the ones that I believe would be good/ likely candidates if the Big 12 grew to a 12, 14, and 16 team conference.  As a caveat, the Big 12 may not be able to snatch all of the schools on my list from their current conferences but they will try like heck to get them.

EXPANSION TO 12 TEAMS: Here are my most likely candidates, in order of preference, if the Big 12 (Lite) expanded to a 12-Team Conference (which I believe is the most likely scenario in the next five to seven years). You'll notice below that TCU is included in the possible schools for expansion to 12 teams. I included them because I believe they are a viable candidate despite the fact that they will not bring any additional revenue to the Big 12.

Arkansas

TCU

Memphis

New Mexico

Louisville

EXPANSION TO 14 TEAMS: 

Arkansas

TCU

Memphis

New Mexico

Louisville

Colorado State

EXPANSION TO 16 TEAMS: I included Boise State and BYU, which are not Big 12 border states, but come with great credentials, fan base, and decent TV markets.  I just find it hard to believe that these two schools would be left out of any 16-Team conference scenario.

Arkansas

TCU

Memphis

New Mexico

Louisville

Colorado State

LA Tech

Tulane

Northern Illinois

Marshall

Middle-Tennessee

Houston

Well those are my thoughts. I would be happy to hear yours.