Jamie Pollard, Iowa State open to discussion on Big 12 expansion

CARROLL — Conference realignment and expansion is back on the table for yet another summer in the Big 12 Conference.

Schools within the league have varying opinions on what the 10-team league needs to do to stabilize its position on the national landscape. Iowa State University holds the position all opinions and discussions would be valuable.

'We're pro discussion,' ISU athletics director Jamie Pollard said Monday during the Cyclone Tailgate Tour. 'You have to look at all of the facts. When you only look at one of the facts that can lead you to think one thing, but then when you add in other facts then you can sway how you think.

'We're very open to listening and trying to help guide the conference to what we think is the best long-term solution.'

Any expansion decisions are ultimately made by Big 12 presidents and chancellors — they meet in Irving, Texas, from May 31-June 3 — but there is no timeline, Pollard said, of when or if expansion would happen. ESPN.com's Jake Trotter reported last week Houston, Memphis, Central Florida and Colorado State have recently lobbied to the Big 12 composition committee to join.

Three of the most important factors in determining the future of the Big 12 are gaining a conference-wide television network, adding schools and holding a conference football championship game. The league currently operates under a round-robin schedule and third-tier media rights are left to member institutions.

Texas operates with its third-tier media rights with its Longhorn Network through ESPN while Iowa State created Cyclones.tv, which provides an online platform and partners with Mediacom. The Big Ten and SEC Networks have gained traction throughout the years while the Pac-12 has struggled and the ACC has yet to materialize a network.

Pollard said the creation of a Big 12 network — with all schools involved — along with expansion and the installation of a championship game all goes hand in hand.

'For the last several years a network has been very lucrative to the SEC and to the Big Ten, which is one set of facts,' Pollard said. 'On the other side of it is the current model has been very advantageous to all the 10 members of the Big 12, including Iowa State, because we really like what we've been able to brand with Cyclones.tv and I would say that that's contributed to our rise in attendance and donations and revenues because we've been able to do what we need to do, which is get exposure in the state of Iowa for those factors.

'But you have to weigh those factors against what's the long-term best financial interests for the 10 members and the league. If it was a black-and-white, easy decision it would have already been made. But it's not, it's really complicated. Any one of those tentacles you go down you can get to a different fork in the road.'

The Big 12 is the only Power Five league with less than 12 members and does not host a championship football game. With the new College Football Playoff system put in place two years ago, the extra conference championship game has tended to benefit leagues that play in the final week. Oklahoma is the only Big 12 school in the two years to qualify for the playoffs.

Pollard said AD and presidential meetings always center on what would be best for the Big 12 as a whole, and championship game conversations have been no different. But as with the other pieces of expansion talk, there are many things to consider.

'Having a championship game, if there's two divisions, one can argue, and I have in the past, that that gives you something to play for and can make some competitive opportunities and some rivalry opportunities,' Pollard said. 'At the same time, though, you have to look and say, again, is it a 10-team or a 12-team (league) and if it's a 10-team are you breaking into two divisions? Those are some things that I think will really be discussed here over the next month.'

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