Report: Big 12 Media Partners Might Have Blocked BYU

Once Texas A&M left the Big 12 for the SEC, all of the rumors were about BYU replacing the Aggies.

TCU took their place instead and it doesn’t look like the Cougars will be getting an invite anytime soon.

According to reports, media partners are having a tough time negotiating televising games on Sunday and that is apparently enough to keep BYU out of the conference.

ABC/ESPN and Fox wanted to keep an option open for playing the Big 12 basketball tournament—something they haven’t done since 2008—but BYU has a strict no-play-on-Sunday rule for religious purposes that they do not want to violate.

Commissioner Chuck Neinas has said that the Big 12 will remain at 10 teams for the 2012 season which will include Missouri. This gives more time for everyone to come to an agreement but it also gives more time to scout other potential schools to make their pitch.

The two schools being talked about the most for addition are Louisville and West Virginia. If they were to join the Big 12, it would make sense for them to do it now because the Big East will undoubtedly be raising its exit fee up to around $15-17 million on Friday.

Louisville may even decline to vote according to a report.

With the Big East in shambles, these schools will be basically begging for admittance into the Big 12. But if the exit fee passes before anyone can leave, it will be incredibly difficult for any of those schools to join another conference.

With Boise State and the Big East in talks, the Big 12 would either have to take another school from Texas like Houston or SMU which will not fly over well with the other Texas schools or make concessions to BYU if they wanted to expand.

Until then, the Cougars will remain an independent school.