August 12, 2016
If you didn’t know, the Big 12 (which is really a Big 10, which is really a Big 14) is looking for a few more schools to share in the mountains of football money available to its members. The conference is currently deciding whether to add two (or potentially four) more teams to the mix, or stay put at ten.
And as ESPN’s Brett McMurphy reports, Temple is one of 17 teams looking to join the conference. To make the pitch, the Owls apparently will have to fire up Skype:
Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby will conduct video conferences with 17 schools that have contacted the league about being considered as expansion candidates, sources told ESPN
…
Among the 17 schools that will make their presentations to the Big 12 are Cincinnati, Houston, BYU, South Florida, UCF, UConn, Memphis, Colorado State, Boise State, Tulane, Temple, East Carolina, SMU, New Mexico and Northern Illinois, sources said.
After joining up with the American Athletic Conference, a random mishmash of schools that have zero history and nothing in common, Temple is looking to upgrade. There are plans build an on-campus football stadium, even if the potential cost seems extremely high on the surface.
Now the administration at Temple has its sights set on a power conference. The Owls will play a three-game series with Oklahoma next decade, but they’re also looking to play the likes of the Sooners much more frequently than that.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
