If you view the last 12 years as one gradual tectonic shift of the college football landscape, the first round of realignment (2010-14) was about expanding conference footprints into new markets. That's why middling programs like Colorado and Utah were added to the Pac-10 and Maryland and Rutgers got invites to the Big Ten.
This second/final round is about adding brands and enhancing inventory. ESPN does not give two shits about adding the Oklahoma City market with Oklahoma joining the SEC. The Longhorns certainly add eyeballs, but it's not like the major media markets in Texas weren't already gobbling up a lot of college football in the fall. We've all seen the pathetic home crowd shots at the Coliseum and Rose Bowl in recent seasons. It's not like Los Angeles and San Diego will start rivaling Birmingham for top college football TV ratings with the Bruins and Trojans heading to the Big Ten. Please.
Forget about markets. Forget about time zones. It's about brands. Now ESPN can sell Texas-Texas A&M, Texas-Oklahoma and Texas-Arkansas every season. It can regularly feature games like Oklahoma-Alabama, Oklahoma-Florida, Oklahoma-Georgia and Oklahoma-LSU. That's on top of its existing SEC inventory. FOX can sell USC-Ohio State, USC-UCLA, USC-Penn State, USC-Michigan and hopefully Notre Dame, as well.
The play here for the Big 12 is to bet on the come. You aren't adding Cincinnati, Houston and UCF because of what they are right now as much as you are adding them for what they might be in 2030 or 2040. You should be racing to add Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah for the same reason.
What was Clemson 20 years ago? A punch line, getting smoked by Texas Tech in the Tangerine Bowl. Now it's a national, established brand. Look how far TCU has come in 20 years. Hell, look how far UCF has come in 20 years. The opposite is true, as well. How much shine has come off of Nebraska in the last 20 years?
You don't need all of these old, new and potential Big 12 programs to go thermonuclear. You just need a few. Plant the seeds and see what grows.
