Is the Big 12 conference coming to an end?
It looks like we are seeing the Big 12 conference crumble right before our eyes. They have already lost Colorado to the Pac 10 (12), and Nebraska to the Big Ten (12). It looks like Texas A&M will be the next school to leave when they eventually decide to go to the SEC. That would give that conference 13 teams, and I think we will really start to see the dominoes tumble. There are some reports that Missouri could also leave the Big 12 and become SEC team #14. Either way I think it is very likely we will one day soon see four or five super conferences in college football.
Sure the SEC is saying that they are not looking to expand, but I think the deal for Texas A&M is already done, and I have read some reports that they will announce just that before the start of the College Football season in a few weeks. That would leave the Big 12 with nine football schools, and if Missouri were to leave would likely kill off the conference all together. Leaving many schools to either jump to a new conference, or start up a completely new diminished conference.
I don’t know yet if this is good for college football or not, but I think TV ratings are the driving force behind it all. Super Conference TV deals would likely generate huge money, and conference TV channels like the Big Ten and Pac 10 network already make big money for their member schools. Of course if the Big 12 were to fold I wonder how many schools would join the Mountain West conference (or other smaller conferences) and if they could ever reach super conference status.
