Big 12 Football: Ranking the teams that applied to join conference

Conference realignment is upon us. The Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners are off to the SEC and could join the conference next season if they decide to pay the exit fees. That would leave the 10-team Big 12 football conference with eight teams.

Unless the conference wants to go back to being the Big 8, Big 12 Commissioner and the university presidents need to find teams wanting to join the conference. Enter Houston, UCF, BYU, and Cincinnati.

Barrett Salee and Dennis Dodd reported that the Big 12 could offer the former American Athletic Conference members and Independent membership by next week. What makes this more interesting is they could join before Oklahoma and Texas’ scheduled departure in 2025.

Houston, UCF, and Cincinnati would have to give the AAC notice of their impending departure while BYU has no such obligation since they function primarily as an independent. The move would be a financial windfall for the invitees.

The teams from the American stand to increase their revenue by $30 million via the Big 12 media rights deal. What is the incentive for the Big 12 to add those four teams? Each team does add something unique to the conference.

BYU gives the Big 12 a presence in the Rocky Moutain region, something they have not had since Colorado left in 2010. Cincinnati gives the conference a team in the Great Lakes market and a closer geographic rival for West Virginia.

UCF gives the Big 12 a team in the talent-rich Florida market, while Houston gives the conference a team in a major metropolitan area with the departure of Texas.

Adding these teams gives the Big 12 the most diverse market footprint in the Power Five. Here is how they fall from least to most desirable.