Our look at conference expansion possibilities now turns to the BIG 12. The first thing that should be noted is that the BIG 12 has no interest in expanding.

So far we have looked at BIG 10 and PAC 10 options and both included potential BIG 12 members. For the BIG 12 conference realignment is mostly a matter of replacing any teams they may lose.

... Unless is becomes a matter of survival ...

If the BIG 12 loses a team or two they will look to take TCU or BYU from the MWC, or even Arkansas from the SEC (if they can swing it.) Houston, Tulsa and Air Force might get some consideration, but the short list is above.

But what if the Rose Bowl and their cronies decide they want to knock out a conference or two out of the BCS pie? Could the master plan be to knock the BIG 12 out of the BCS in 2014?

The BIG 10 expansion talk has focused on the Missouri Tigers, Pittsburgh Panthers and Texas Longhorns. I know that Football is not the only issue, but budgets are tight and football is a major issue. If the BIG 10 were to look at the Big East, BIG 12 and independents as up for grabs and examine the impact of each on their BCS automatic qualification criteria, which teams provide improvements?

The Texas Longhorns, Oklahoma Sooners, and Cincinnati Bearcats are the top three choices. Whats that? No way they take Cincinnati? Ok, the West Virginia Mountaineers are next. Not good enough? Next up are the Missouri Tigers.

What if the BIG 10 expands by taking Texas, Oklahoma, and Missouri? The BIG 12 loses almost all their present BCS credibility, that's what.

How many top 25 teams does the rest of the BIG 12 produce each year? Not many. In fact, if the MWC added the Boise St. Broncos by then they would be higher than the BIG 12 remnants for an automatic qualification in 2014. This could make it difficult for the BIG 12 to draw MWC teams to their table. Would the TCU Horned Frogs face more top 25 teams with the Broncos, BYU Cougars and Utah Utes on their schedule every year than with eight of the remaining BIG 12 teams? It might make more sense at that point for the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Texas A&M Aggies to join the MWC.

The BIG 12 could be aided slightly in this event by a PAC 10 expansion involving Utah. If BYU is selected the BIG 12 would be restored to a position of dominance and free pickings of whoever they want of the remaining teams. If the Colorado Buffaloes are the expansion partner the scales between the MWC and BIG 12 remnants would be nearly balanced.

A BIG 10 expansion of Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri, followed by a PAC 10 expansion of Utah and Colorado could unravel two conferences at the same time. If this move is made in 2013 the effects would be devastating, as the BIG 12 remnants would not have time to earn the rankings they would without Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri on their schedules before the next BCS evaluation period.

Of course the BIG 10 also likes their history. They also like to think they are kings of the sports world. They might like to prove they are still the conference everyone really wants to be in. This all makes the following BIG 10 expansion interesting:

Texas, Oklahoma and the Arkansas Razorbacks.