Big 12 Expansion Options: UConn + ACC Teams in the Mix?

what's up guys it's Pete Mundo with Heartland college sports and it is so great to be here with you as always and we're coming to you on a Saturday night because frankly I don't want to be talking about this I don't want to be talking about expansion when we've actually got games to play in a week less than a week in the Big 12 but I can't avoid the news I can't avoid the new cycle and I know it's been a Hot Topic over the last 36 hours in the Big 12 so I said let's get to it right now because Sunday I'm going to give you my big 12 football prediction for the upcoming season who I see winning the conference Championship I will give you the records for every team in the Big 12 how I see the league shaking out so I didn't want to bury this in that conversation so I said I'll come to you on a Saturday we'll do a few minutes here we'll talk about the expansion news and then we'll get back to football because unlike other shows we don't just throw stuff against the wall expansion all day every day and then when something actually comes to fruition act like we were right about something when guess what if you throw things against the wall long enough you're probably gonna end up being right on a thing or two it's an amazing concept to some people but listen we give it to you straight we talk about the facts we talk about the real reporting that's out there and then we break it all down I'm Pete Mundo we're Heartland college sports if you are just joining us or even if you're a long timer but you have not yet subscribed hit that subscribe button on iTunes on Spotify and yes on YouTube and more of you catch the show and are not subscribed you think you are but you're not so make sure you're subscribed we so appreciate you doing that okay let's get right to it Yukon potentially getting into the Big 12 here was the report that broke on Friday it came from Yahoo sports say Ross Dellinger that Brett ymar and the Big 12 are very much more than open for business Dinger says that the Big 12 has had in-person meetings with Yukon ymark is set to make a presentation to the League's presidents here in the next week Yukon would potentially join the Big 12 as a member in all sports except for Football starting at as possibly as soon as 2026 and then you football would join the Big 12 in 2031 and that is when the TV contracts are set to be renegotiated and restarted anyway so a couple of things do I like Yukon from a basketball perspective yes does this make sense for Brett ymark with his vision of decoupling basketball from football absolutely do I have some hesitations not as much as I used to I used to say I don't want to go down this road of having a member be here for basketball but not be here for other things but if Yukon is going to come to the Big 12 in everything but football and then give them half a decade or so to get ready for Big 12 Football that has potential but what I would want to know if I was Brett ymark if I was a big 12 president is Yukon serious about football or is Yukon just looking at this and saying you know what we're a basketball school We're Not Really Gonna invest in football and if we go 0 and 12 every year so be it because you don't really want that you know you don't really I'm not saying they have to win 10 games every year but you don't want Yukon football to be what Yukon football has been for far too long because that will be a complete and utter embarrassment for the Big 12 and regardless of what Brett ymark thinks the reality is this football still ultimately pays most the bills I know that he believes basketball is undervalued and I get that to a degree but I'd want to see some numbers if I was him and I'm sure he's seen more than we have but i' want to see some numbers to feel good about the idea that I could decouple basketball from football and actually make more than I'm making right now on a per School annual basis that's what I would want to see and I would want some solid proof of that before we went forward because we know the ratings for football are just AST astronomically higher on average than they are for basketball but this would of course create the Big 12 as the preeminent and Premier college basketball conference which it already is going to be it would just grow the Gap and from that standpoint it's smart for your mark to say you know what we're not going to catch the SEC in football we're not we got to keep the Gap small but we're not going to catch them but if we can grow the gap between one and two in basketball between us and the Big 10 between the Big 12 in the SEC or the Big 12 in the ACC or the Big 12 in the Big East well that's not a bad thing at all in fact that makes a lot of sense if you're Brett ymark to say we'll just grow the Gap in basketball so large you can't avoid us you can't miss us and fine it's not football but in the end it still is Far and Away the second most popular college sport bar none and having the best conference in America is a pretty damn good place to be so this is yourm Mark thinking ahead and saying we've got value in basketball and we're going to keep growing our basketball product to make it Far and Away Superior to anything else out there and the reality is Yukon is Far and Away the Blue Blood of Blue Bloods and college basketball not only have they won back-to-back national championships and they'll try to win three straight which nobody has done since UCLA in the early 70s they won six in the past 30 years not even it's really six in the past 25 going back to 99 I mean they are third all time in national championships with six and that's behind only um UCLA with 11 and Kentucky has eight and then you've got Yukon and North Carolina that have six a piece well guess what Kentucky has won one since yukon's won six UCLA has won zero since Yukon has won six UCL play last won a national title in 95 so Yukon for the last generation is the ultimate blue blood in college basketball you stack that up with national champs like Kansas another blue blood with Balor with Arizona within the rest of the depth that you've got around this Big 12 Conference and the basketball product is not even close around the country Houston Iowa State Cincinnati's got his history and Legacy uh Kansas state has a legacy Oklahoma State's down in the dumps but they've got a history as well Tech is on the upswing and has been I mean there is so much to like West Virginia's got a great product as well so it would not be even close so then you say okay what else would make sense though and that's where part two of this story comes into the equation and this came from Brett McMurphy on Saturday so Brett McMurphy Murphy Action Network reported on Saturday morning that his sources are saying keep an eye on what happens in the AC McMurphy said that the Big 12 would look to potentially bring in Yukon and then some ACC schools it would not end with Yukon and that only makes sense you're not going to have an odd number of teams right so we know that Florida State and Clemson won out it's very obvious they are suing their own conference so we're not breaking any news on that front but would they potentially be options Florida State Clemson Miami those would be the big three and I'm starting to think if yourm Mark is actually deadly serious about making this the premier basketball conference in the country hands down maybe we've had it all wrong maybe it's not Florida State and Clemson maybe it's North Carolina along with Duke along with NC State I'm just saying maybe he kind of punts on football and says you know what let's go all in on hoops and by the way the football products aren't terrible in those places UNC football is not Yukon of football neither is Duke neither is NC State so maybe all the talk about Florida State and Clemson is kind of missing the boat now I would still look Florida State Clemson and here's why with Florida State and Clemson you build up your football product and you've got a very strong basketball product as well Florida State better than Clemson but still you get a really good football product that still drives the bus financially and solid basketball products but North Carolina is sitting out there if I was looking for a third to round out four teams for 20 if you go Yukon Florida State Clemson I'm looking North Carolina before I'm looking my Miami because North Carolina obviously has the basketball it has solid football it has the academics but here's the catch Paul fine bomb was on my show this week if you haven't seen that please do watch it on YouTube listen to it on the podcast that's why you want to be subscribed yes Paul fine bomb was on this show and it has gotten outstanding feedback so if you have not listened if you have not watched that's why you want to be on the channel but fine bomb said that he didn't think the SEC had any interest in Florida State and Clemson he thought the interest was more so in North Carolina because the SEC are basically like we've got those States more or less on lockdown Florida South Carolina we don't need to add to that footprint but UNC has such appe peel because of its location the academics the basketball and the football the university status all those different things so North Carolina in a weird way may be the most desirable team so then if you're Your Mark what do you do what's your backup plan well your backup plan is probably Miami if not it may very well be Duke you may have those schools as the backup plan instead of an NC State instead of a Virginia Tech but all of this right now is very much up in the air based on what is being said out there and what's being reported the other thing to note based on MC Murphy's report is that the ACC schools could include some natural rivalries with Big 12 programs well that would be Pittsburgh that would probably be Virginia Tech I think about those two schools when it comes to West Virginia in particular and West Virginia is the one school that a hell felt somewhat bad for over the last 10 years in the Big 12 I'd love having West Virginia in the Big 12 I think they're a great cultural fit but you know I'm not going to lie they have kind of been out on an island for so long right I mean they've been out there without any teams in the Eastern time zone until last year no real natural rivalries to speak of so they haven't had that if they can get something that's more Regional in nature where they have a Cincinnati they have a Yukon who they have an old rivalry with going back to the Big East days and then you include under that umbrella potentially a Virginia Tech potentially a Pittsburgh then you've got a very interesting conversation to have for West Virginia and what potentially gets brought to the table on their behalf so all of those things are very interesting when it comes to what this all looks like moving forward but this is not the news that I think anybody expected one week before the college football season began and that's why I said let me address this in a separate show that way we're not getting in the way of the actual football talk because I like to talk football here or just talk on the field stuff but this is obviously too big of a story from very credible sources Ross Dinger and Brett McMurphy that obviously we're going to address it and obviously we're going to bring it up we've got this on the YouTube channel secret agent writes can't see how I can have a respectable opinion against Yukon Your Mark knows what he's doing he seems adamant who am I to argue listen I'm with you there man I am the only EXP Anon team that has come up in legitimate reporting that I have been dead set against is Gonzaga I have never bought in Gonzaga for the Big 12 location wise it stinks there's nothing there Gonzaga is all Mark FW if Mark FW God forbid decided he want to retire or something happened tomorrow I think Gonzaga basketball falls off the map I think Gonzaga basketball has been good because it's been in enough conference for the better part of you know its entire lifespan so it wins an easy conference it gets to 30 wins they get into the NCAA tournament and usually they underachieve whenever Gonzaga came up I was dead set against it but when it's schools like Yukon when San Diego States come up when the Washington State Oregon State Duo has come up even UNLV I've understood cases in favor of those schools the only one I've said don't touch it the 10- foot pole is Gonzaga because the program is successful because of the head coach and for no other reason and even with that head coach they've largely underachieved when it matters most so but I agree I mean Brett ymark has 98% of the time gone about things the right way and done things to improve the brand of the Big 12 and keep the Big 12 as competitive as it can be with the big 10 in the SEC and do it's in the best interest of its TV partners and its fans which is a very difficult balance to execute if you're Brett Your Mark there's been a couple of misses the protected rivalries should include farmageddon playing in Mexico maybe TV really likes that but I'm not a fan outside of that this guy has basically made the right move every step of the way so I'm not going to argue it and I do think Yukon giving them a ramp to get football on track to where it needs to be get the funding where it needs to be so they're competitive and not a total doormat for five years is a great play and then you bring in basketball and here's the other thing for Yukon that was in Brett McMurphy's report Danny Hurley is not against the move and let's be honest if Danny Hurley didn't want to make this move yukon's not making the move now there are very few coaches who would have the power to block something like this Danny Hurley is one of them he's a generational coach he's W back-to-back natties the Los Angeles Lakers tried to hire him away from Yukon he's one of a handful of coaches in the entire country who could pull off something like this if he wanted to and the fact that he's not against it per MC Murphy's reporting now he's not necessarily a huge fan of it I don't know about that but he's not against the move to the Big 12 well that that's a good sign and he shouldn't be because this will bring more money to Yukon the Big East TV contract is not huge because it's only basketball you're G to bring in three four five times that much money being in the Big 12 which will only help Yukon Basketball does it mean longer road trips yes but if you're a Yukon fan I don't think you should look at this like you did your move to the AAC which was a debacle and then you went back to the Big East and the succcess followed this is now joining one of the all-time and frankly the best college basketball conference that will have ever been probably since the original Big East days back in the 1980s when you had Georg toown St John's Villanova you know going back to that era of college basketball you are joining the premier college basketball conference you're gonna have Yukon Kansas as a potential conference game like you're not going to miss on that I get it you like the regional rivalries you like the villan noas you like the UK you like the St johns's you like Providence you like playing those games schedule them in the noncon if you want but you're not going to miss out on this opportunity and yourm Mark has been eyeing the New York City Market since he got here yourm Mark is a New York City guy it's a fascinating marriage with the big 12 which obviously is still mostly anchored by teams in the Heartland hence the name of this show Heartland college sports I'm Pete Mundo by the way if you're just hopping in hit the like button below the video subscribe to us leave the festar rating and review on iTunes and Spotify so appreciate you doing that and uh being a part of the show but it's been this interesting marriage he's always wanted a New York City presence he's done advertising on billboards in Midtown Manhattan for the Big 12 despite the fact that they have no team there Yukon is as much a New York City team as any other team can be I would argue Yukon is more of a New York City team than ruter right there in New Jersey when Yukon plays at Madison Square Garden for the Big East Championship it's a home game any game Yukon plays at MSG is a home game they arguably own the market more than ruter and this is potentially the splash that ymark wants to make into the New York City Market doing it with the best option available and that is Yukon Basketball there's no other program way bigger obviously than anything at ruter basketball football doesn't matter larger than anything else he could get in the Northeast there is no good football right now in the Northeast Boston College stinks Syracuse stinks Ruckers for the most part stinks maybe shano starts to turn things around I mean you know Temple pen where you going to go Pittsburgh none of them are any good so this is the best brand if you want to tap into the New York City Market that's out there of any conference and your mark is doing it and he's potentially going to have incredible success doing it and it will lead to the Big 12 growing the Gap in basketball by an even wider margin which is something that you really got to put into perspective so we so app appreciate you guys being here on this show like I said I didn't want to put this on the tail end of Big 12 Football Talk I wanted to get this out there for you on a Saturday and then Sunday I'm going to give you my big 12 football prediction for the upcoming season that way they're two separate shows all right John says any truth to the rumor that ESPN will foot the bill for Yukon I've not seen that John but what I have seen and what I think matters here is that McMurphy reported a key component to adding Yukon is the 16 current Big 12 members would not see a reduction in Revenue so and that's let's be honest it's all about the dollars and cents and all the other Big 12 schools care about is does this cost us anything and if the answer is no then that's a very good sign moving forward but it's also why I think Yukon football's not coming potentially if this all happens till 2031 because that would involve potentially taking some money out of the football pot out of the TV pot and the teams don't want to do that right now but if they can get Yukon basketball in there at very little cost or no cost to everybody else then that is an absolute Nob brainer that's what that is uh Kim says Pete great job with fine bomb the other day Skip John kzo hey I'd listen take a listen to John if you haven't heard the show yet I thought we had a pretty good shat about the Big 12 and you know the four new teams coming in so I would absolutely take a listen to that if you haven't yet uh BR says is adding Yukon gonna get us more money on the basketball side how valuable could that be I'm gonna leave that up to Brett Yark to figure out I will leave that up to Brett ymark to figure out I just know that if he sees value in it if he sees money there and I believe he does he's going to go ahead and do it and I'm a okay with that all right guys thank you so much for joining this show if you are not subscribed football seasons less than a week away join us subscribe leave that festar rating and review on iTunes and Spotify we've got like 20 reviews or 20 ratings to get to 800 on iTunes could you be one of those 20 that's all I ask of you the show is free all our content is free just leave that festar rating and review that really does help us grow this show thank you and if you're not on the Heartland college sports forums go to the website the forums are free the Big 12 fans are pouring in every day and we are building a great Community beyond the craziness of social media so hop on those forums I'm on there all the time interacting with you guys and it's a great way to just find fellow Big 12 fans to chap it up with and have a good time have a great night we appreciate you guys and go Big 12