Big 12 coaches chime in on expansion, potential conference title game

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops quickly said he didn't have a stance on the Big 12's discussions about the possibility of league expansion and a conference championship game. TCU's Gary Patterson said those were decisions that would be made at levels above him.

Both then offered some opinions Tuesday.

With spring football practice winding down in the Big 12, there are still those potentially league-altering issues that are far from settled. The Big 12's annual spring meeting is at the end of May.

"I don't know how a championship game with 10 teams when you're playing everybody already would really be that positive," Stoops said during a spring football teleconference for the league coaches. "With 12 teams of course it would be, but now you have to expand, and we'll see where that goes."

The Sooners were the Big 12 champions last season and made it into the four-team College Football Playoff. Had the Big 12 had a championship game last year after its round-robin regular season schedule, Oklahoma would have faced Oklahoma State after beating the Cowboys by 35 points in the regular-season finale.

"It's tough to have a round robin. Everybody wants to say you have to have expansion so you have a better chance of playing for a national title. They should try to play everybody every year," said Patterson, whose Horned Frogs were snubbed for the first CFP two seasons ago. "I like the model that we have now, even though it's tougher."

West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said everyone seems comfortable with 10 teams, but if anything is going to happen it should be adding teams and a league championship game at the same time.

"I think the Big 12 got it right last year," Holgorsen said. "Based on the results of what happened, I think we're in pretty good shape moving forward."