Big 12 Football: 10 most appealing schools for conference expansion

8. UConn

If the Big 12 were to take a basketball first approach to building out a conference realignment plan, then it could certainly feature a program like the UConn Huskies on the expansion shortlist of candidates. But taking a football first approach to building out a list of expansion candidates makes it more difficult to make a solid case for UConn.

Instead, you would have to get the commitment from the school that it would be willing to make the investment into the football program to bring it out from the bottom of the FBS, where it remained throughout the last half-decade or so.

Nonetheless, UConn could be a solid candidate to add to the Big 12. The new TV market and recruiting grounds, potential of the athletic program as a whole, and a decent academic standing, makes UConn a viable candidate in this conversation.

7. UCF

There’s a lot to like about what the UCF Knights out of the American Athletic Conference could bring to the table for the Big 12. Sustainable success in football could be achievable in Orlando over the long haul, especially with former Auburn Tigers head coach Gus Malzahn leading the program.

Malzahn and the Knights could continue the reign as one of the more dominant Group of Five programs around the college football landscape for many years to come.

That’s just one of the many reasons to add UCF. An increasingly strong men’s basketball program, a potent baseball program, and a huge enrollment at a respected academic institution, are all major forces for why the Big 12 should consider the Knights.

The main drawback to adding UCF would be the geographic proximity to any other schools that the Big 12 could add here. Really the only other option could be the South Florida Bulls. But there’s not much athletic success or profitability to speak of late from USF.