Big 12 Football: 10 most appealing schools for conference expansion

10. Coastal Carolina

Among the faster-rising athletic programs around the Group of Five landscape you will find the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. The advantages for the Big 12 of being able to add a football program like Coastal Carolina is really three-fold. The first reason could also include adding a program like (that would get an honorable mention on this list) the Appalachian State Mountaineers.

Since this is mainly a football, and then men’s basketball, focused list the criteria can be a little bit flexible. But the fact of the matter is that Coastal Carolina is one of the best programs out there in terms of the trio of football, men’s basketball, and baseball. As one of the best Group of Five football programs in the country last year, and a recent winner of a College World Series, there’s a lot to like about what the Chants could bring to the table.

9. Louisiana

Another vastly underrated Group of Five program that could have some real momentum if the Big 12 wanted to add anymore members in the near future is the Louisiana Ragin-Cajuns. Louisiana does get to play the Longhorns during the non-conference slate this fall, so that could be an opportunity to see how that team would hold up on the gridiron against Big 12 competition.

Louisiana is also a strong force in baseball. And given the level of investment from the school of late in athletic facilities, it’s not out of the question that it could invest more in the men’s basketball program in the near future.

If the Big 12 were to consider adding between six and eight more teams following the departures of Texas and Oklahoma, the administration might have to think outside the box. And that’s where you get the idea of bringing in a growing football program like Louisiana into the mix.