On the heels of BYU head football coach Bronco Mendenhall stating he thought his team was a fit for the Big 12, the conference indicated they are happy with their current setup.
Two Big 12 athletic directors, Kansas State's John Currie and West Virginia's Oliver Luck both told ESPN the conference has not discussed expansion. The BYU Cougars are one of seven teams independent of a conference and they finished last season with an 8-5 record.
"Expansion is one thing we're not talking about," Luck said. "The conference schedule is absolutely great.
"Our tagline is 'one true champion.'"
Mendenhall told the Austin American-Statesman last week BYU would be interested in joining the Big 12. The team had also previously considered the same move in 2011, when the Big 12 had just lost Nebraska and Colorado.
"We see how strong and productive our league is with 10 members," Currie told said. "The camaraderie is really good."
ESPN reported the Big 12 may be happy with only 10 teams. The conference reportedly brought in $220.1 in distribution revenue, more money per school than the SEC and the ACC.
"Our denominator is 10," Luck said. "The more you split it up... I don't think we can find a partner who's available right now to stay at the value we have (per school) or let alone increase what we have. That's the consensus we have (staying at 10)."
Mendenhall is in his ninth season as the Cougars coach and he is 82-33 overall. Mendenhall has also led the team to a bowl game every year and he has won six of them.
Due to conference scheduling, BYU may be one of the independent teams will have to miss out on potential games against "power conference" teams. Like Notre Dame, BYU does not have a conference affiliation and must find ways to schedule games against college football's best on their own.
