Colorado State could learn its Big 12 fate Monday

CSU could learn as early as Monday whether or not it still has a shot at the Big 12 and the more than $25 million a year the conference distributes annually to its member schools.

UPDATE: Big 12 Conference nixes expansion

The Big 12 Conference’s Board of Directors, made up of the presidents or chancellors of the conference’s 10 members, is meeting Monday in Irving, Texas, where a vote on expansion is expected.

The vote could be to add two or four new members from a list of finalists that was pared down to 11 schools, including Colorado State University, at the end of August.

Or it could be to stay put at 10 members, as the conference’s television partners at ESPN and Fox reportedly are pushing for, to avoid having to pay an additional $20 million annually for each new school the conference adds under terms of their media rights deals. Recent reports have said the TV networks are willing to increase the payout for existing members in order to remove that obligation from the contracts moving forward. Those contracts run through the 2024-25 academic year.

The board might also decide to basically do nothing for now, continuing to explore the pros and cons of expansion while stringing along the hopes of CSU and the other 10 candidates — all members of Group of Five conferences, where annual revenue distributions per school range from $2 million to $6 million a year.

The other finalists, identified by ESPN and other published reports are: Air Force, BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Houston, Rice, SMU, South Florida and Tulane.

EXPANSION:  Is Big 12 leaning to not expand?

The Big 12 lost four schools — Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas A&M — during the last major round of conference realignment in 2011-12 and added two, TCU and West Virginia. Other members of the Big 12 are Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas Tech.

CSU Chancellor and President Tony Frank sent a packet of materials outlining his school’s interest in joining the Big 12 and what it would bring to the conference to West Virginia University President Gordon Gee in the summer of 2015. Gee, a former University of Colorado president, was one of three Big 12 presidents placed on a membership committee to look into possible expansion.

After Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby announced July 19 that he had been authorized by the board of directors to explore expansion by identifying and interviewing potential members, Frank sent a letter to formally express CSU’s interest in joining the conference.

“Based on the recent decision of the Big 12 Conference presidents to consider conference expansion, Colorado State University wishes to express its strong interest in being considered as an expansion candidate,” the letter read. “We believe our university has a great deal to offer a leading athletic conference.”

The brief letter, obtained by the Coloradoan through an open-records request, went on to say: “We appreciate the opportunity to tell our story so you may get to know us better as we work with you throughout your process. We look forward to hearing from you regarding next steps, as well as any other information we may provide.”

SALES PITCH:  Colorado State's formal pitch to join Big 12 short, simple

Frank and other school officials have declined to comment on subsequent discussions they’ve had or information they’ve exchanged with the Big 12 or the Kansas City, Missouri-based consultant working with the conference on expansion issues, citing a confidentiality agreement.

Big 12 Conference officials have also declined comment on the process.

Each of the 11 finalists made pitches to Bowlsby and a small group of Big 12 officials two weeks ago in the Dallas area, ESPN reported Friday, citing “multiple sources” it did not name. Each school, the report said, was able to bring up to five people, including the university president or chancellor, athletic director and others, to make a two-hour pitch.

University of Oklahoma President David Boren, who was one of the first to push for expansion in the spring of 2015, and Iowa State President Steven Leath, have both said recently that the issue might not be decided at Monday’s meeting, and published reports suggest the presidents haven’t reached any sort of consensus on whether or not expand, let alone which schools would be added if they did.

The primary arguments in favor of expansion are to increase the conference’s geographic reach to add new television markets, to increase the level of respect its football champion receives from the College Football Playoff Selection Committee by having a larger pool of schools it represents and to avoid being left with the leftovers if the other four Power 5 conferences — Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Pacific-12 and Southeastern — decide to expand to 16 teams in the near future, all but forcing the Big 12 to do the same to remain relevant.

The primary argument against expansion is that none of the 11 finalists increase the value, in terms of potential media rights revenue, or prestige of the conference.

 Follow reporter Kelly Lyell at twitter.com/KellyLyell and facebook.com/KellyLyell.news

Clock issues at end of CSU vs. Boise State officiated correctly