Oklahoma administrators disagree on Big 12 expansion

Oklahoma President David Boren has been one of the most strident supporters of the Big 12 expanding to 12 teams, but it seems not everyone at the school is an agreement.

Max Weitzenhoffer, the chair of the Oklahoma board of regents, is strongly against the conference adding two more members, and has a powerful supporter in fellow regent member, Oklahoma City Thunder chairman Clay Bennett.

"We just want to let him (Boren) know, we don't like it," Weitzenhoffer told Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports. "It if goes forward, it may get to the point where we may not be able to stop it."

The conference's football coaches and athletic directors met last week in Phoenix, and witnessed a presentation that used analytics to show the league has a 15 percent stronger chance at qualifying for the College Football Playoff if they expand to 12 teams.

Weitzenhoffer's main argument against expansion is that it won't benefit the Big 12 financially unless it is able to poach a fellow Power-5 conference member. With teams in those leagues bound by respective television contracts, that seems very unlikely to occur.

However, both men released statements Monday, indicating they are on the same page.

The most common schools mentioned for expansion are Boise State, BYU, South Florida, Cincinnati, UConn, Houston, Memphis, and UCF. None of those programs would represent a positive move for the Big 12, according to Weitzenhoffer.

"They have no seating capacities in their stadiums," he said. "They really don't build them up. They really don't have any TV. I really don't know what we have to gain by that."

The conference's presidents will meet May 31-June 3 for their annual meetings, and it's a safe bet expansion will be a hot topic during the talks.