Big 12 Football: 4 programs that would benefit by joining the conference

Which four Power/Group of Five and Independent football programs would really benefit from joining the Big 12 football conference in the near future?

The Big 12 Football conference is going to have an interesting and unpredictable run during the looming 2020 regular season. With pretty much every Power Five conference around the country running into problems and potential season alterations made to cope during the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Big 12 and SEC are taking a more patient approach than most.

The ACC is the one conference that seems to be left looking in between the plans of the Big Ten and PAC-12, and then the Big 12 and SEC. The Big Ten and PAC-12 already announced that they will be moving to conference-only schedules during the 2020 college football season. Meanwhile, the Big 12 and SEC are staying more patient (or kicking the can down the road) and are still planning on playing a non-con and conference schedule this fall.

The Big 12 in particular is going to be tested since they have less football programs within the conference to manuver the schedule around. While the likes of the SEC and ACC have at least a dozen teams to adjust a schedule with, the Big 12 only has 10, and some of them are spread pretty far apart geographically.

This is another point that could reignite the conference expansion conversation that was so prevalent for the Big 12 in the early-to-mid 2010’s. They have yet to make any concrete changes, or announce any current expansion plans, but it is a fun speculative conversation to have in the midst of such a weird offseason during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here’s a look into the four schools that would benefit in a big way by joining the Big 12 Football conference (basing the list solely off the program’s benefit not the Big 12’s).