Big 12 football: 3 schools the conference should add along with UConn

Oregon

The two most attractive potential conference expansion candidates that any other P5 conference could poach from the PAC-12 at this point are the Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies. With USC and UCLA set to depart the PAC-12 for the Big Ten next year, Oregon and Washington are the two most valuable brands remaining in the conference.

If there was a world where the Big 12 could get both Oregon and Washington in the mix, I don’t think Yormark and the rest of the conference’s leadership would be in a spot to turn them down.

In this conversation, though, there is only one hypothetical conference expansion target that the Big 12 is considering from the PAC-12 to keep the numbers even. Oregon is the more valuable brand between the Ducks and the Huskies. Granted, this isn’t a huge gap in value that we’re talking about here in terms of the appeal for each school in the eyes of the Big 12 conference expansion.

Washington does have the Seattle TV market. The Huskies also bring a really strong academic presence and a very good all-around athletic program.

Yet, Oregon gets the edge here thanks to the edge in overall brand recognition and value along with it boasting the more successful and consistent football program over the last decade. Oregon also is one of the better basketball programs in the PAC-12 in the last decade under head coach Dana Altman.

All in all, Oregon and Washington would both be really solid expansion candidates for the Big 12. But in the scope of overall brand value with a lens on basketball and football strength, Oregon does get the edge over the Huskies.