Pretty Much Everyone Thinks The Big 12 Should Add Cincinnati
By Chris Bains
On Friday I put up a farcical poll asking you, the reader, to decide on the best options should the Big 12 decide to embark on the Good Ship Expansion. While it was all in fun, the reality is that there are a ton of options at the Big 12’s disposal. Despite Cincinnati being one of their strongest, if not the strongest option, the fact remains that they could potentially be passed over if another round of conference realignment comes about.
All of us understand what UC brings to the table, and it’s a ton, but it seems we can rest assured that basically everyone else seems to know what we do.
Over on Frank The Tank’s Slant, who’s a pretty reputable voice in the community, he’s been clamoring for the Big 12 to add Cincinnati for a while. He reiterated that stance last week.
"Does this mean that the Big 12 will take my advice and invite BYU and Cincinnati (or Memphis or other potential candidates)? I’ll reiterate my belief that the Big 12 has been focusing on short-term revenue dollars at the expense of long-term stability… and Boren indicates that there isn’t even much of a short-term revenue upside to avoiding further expansion."
SB Nation seems like BYU paired with Cincinnati would be the most logical choices for the Big 12.
"Who would get the callup? There is not an official memo that has been lifted from a fax machine, but the same list has been thrown around for years now by just about everybody: Boise State, BYU, Cincinnati, UCF, and what have you.BYU seems like a very good bet to get the nod, and pairing Cincy with West Virginia for some sort of reasonable continuity makes for another popular option."
They also ran a poll on Thursday to determine from “the people” the best options for Big 12 expansion. Cincinnati and BYU rose to the top again until UCF and USF fans hijacked the poll, sending the numbers toppling into madness.
"Update: Poll closed! Technical difficulties! UCF’s and USF’s vote tallies are inflated well beyond what they should be. Before SHENANIGANS struck, the poll was led by BYU and Cincinnati, with UConn third and UCF fourth. I do not recall where USF was, but it was definitely not first or second."
ESPN’s Jake Trotter doesn’t necessarily believe Cincinnati is the top candidate should the Big 12 issue invitations but does have the Bearcats among the top candidates.
"Still, to get to 12, the conference would have to pair BYU with another school. There are several other “free agents” out there, including Memphis, UCF, Air Force, Cincinnati, Houston and even SMU."
Allen Kenney at Bloguin’s The Student Section has UC and Memphis as the most realistic picks.
"One wild card: In the near term, schools such as Memphis and Cincinnati may up their program-building efforts with the carrot of a Big 12 invite hanging out there. Frankly, Bob Bowlsby and Co. are probably hoping for a couple TCU-like mid-majors to rise up and make a compelling case for inclusion. (Note: A public invite now might make that easier.)"
Conference realignment is the only thing anyone is talking about. After all, there really isn’t much else to talk about during this long, arduous offseason. For the Bearcats, while all of this is just mindless chatter at this point, some of it isn’t necessarily flattering for them, and none of it is from a reputable source with insight on the Big 12’s future plans, being in the conversation is better than not being in the conversation (Hi, Temple!).
The point is, when push comes to shove the Bearcats need to be top of mind. Santa Ono and Mike Bohn certainly understand the importance of this, which is why they’re spending so much time rubbing shoulders with Power 5 school presidents. And if the Big 12 up and invites BYU and Boise State we can all collectively throw up together. Like a family. One.. big.. pathetic family.