A four-person subcommittee has been formed to examine expansion of the Big 12 following the pending departure of Oklahoma and Texas for the Southeastern Conference.
The subcommittee is made up of Kirby Hocutt, athletic director at Texas Tech, as well as Iowa State president Wendy Wintersteen, Kansas chancellor Doug Girod and Baylor AD Mack Rhoades.
Former West Virginia athletic director, NCAA executive and XFL commissioner Oliver Luck is working in an advisory role.
Hocutt told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal that the committee would meet virtually with Big 12 presidents on Friday. In-person meetings with athletic directors and others will follow next week, he said.
“Right now, our complete focus is to make the Big 12 as strong as it can possibly be,” Hocutt said. “…We’re going to continue to be part of the Power Five structure in college athletics.”
While they aren’t of the prestige of Oklahoma and Texas, several schools reportedly have reached out to the Big 12 to investigate joining the league. The Athletic reported Wednesday that at least 15 schools, most from the Mountain West and the American Athletic Conference, have an interested in moving to the Big-12.
The Athletic also reported Friday that a school high on the Big 12’s list to consider is BYU. The school plays football as an independent and is a member of the West Coast Conference in other sports.
“There is a lot of interest in the Big 12 Conference,” Hocutt told the Avalanche-Journal. “There is a lot of interest for people to be associated with us, to join with us. So we will take our time, be diligent and make sure we make the right strategic decisions for the long-term future.”
–Field Level Media