Cincinnati officially submits Big 12 Conference application
The University of Cincinnati has officially submitted its application to join the Big 12 Conference, according to two university sources with knowledge of the negotiations.
It's the first confirmation from Cincinnati officials of what national media outlets have widely reported: The Bearcats are making the jump to a Power Five football conference.
The Big 12 on Friday is expected to officially announce that Cincinnati and three other schools – fellow American Athletic Conference rivals Central Florida and Houston and current independent BYU – will join the conference.
Cincinnati President Neville Pinto was unavailable for comment Wednesday. Pinto made it a top priority to lead Cincinnati into a major conference after taking over as president in early 2017, and he's shown strong leadership on the issue ever since.
For Cincinnati, all that remains uncertain now is when it will officially start play in the Big 12 and how much money is at stake.
It's almost certain Cincinnati and the other incoming Big 12 schools won't receive an equal share of television revenue to the current members ahead of a new media rights deal in 2025. Last year, Big 12 members each received around $40 million in TV rights payouts.
West Virginia and Texas Christian each made less in TV money during their first few years as members of the Big 12 after joining the league in 2012. They've since received an equal share each year. It's not publicly known yet what Cincinnati and the Big 12 have agreed upon for an initial annual payout, but the university will make significantly more than the $7 million in TV revenue it receives each year in the AAC.
Some of Cincinnati's initial Big 12 windfall will have to help cover the AAC's exit fee. The league's exit fee is $10 million, and that's tied to a school being required to give a 27-month notice of its intention to leave.
If a school leaves before the 27-month period passes, however, the exit fee increases to a negotiated cost. UConn last year paid $17 million to leave the AAC early. Cincinnati, Central Florida and Houston aren't expected to remain in the AAC for another 27 months.
Other things to consider as Cincinnati enters the Big 12:
Facilities
The move should allow Cincinnati to advance its plan to build a permanent indoor football practice facility, something coach Luke Fickell has been pushing. It will be Cincinnati's No. 1 facilities priority moving forward.
Cincinnati's top-notch facilities positioned it nicely to make the jump to the Big 12. Credit Cincinnati leaders for having the foresight to invest a total of $173 million into overhauling Nippert Stadium and Fifth Third Arena in recent years. Those facilities have the Bearcats ready to compete for Big 12 championships on Day 1 in the conference.
Cincinnati finished an $86 million expansion of Nippert Stadium in 2015, adding new suites, club seating and a larger press box. It expanded Nippert's capacity to 40,000 from 35,000. Nippert certainly isn't among the largest stadiums in college football, but the state-of-the-art amenities, upkeep and game-day atmosphere have made it one of the best.
A year later, when Cincinnati was being considered for Big 12 expansion, then-President Santa Ono publicly said the university would look at another major expansion of Nippert Stadium if it received an invite. The Big 12 decided not to expand then, but it has to now to try to survive after bluebloods Oklahoma and Texas announced they are leaving for the SEC.
It's believed Ono pitched Nippert expansion as a way to entice the Big 12. But there likely hasn't been any major pressure from conference officials for Cincinnati to expand Nippert's capacity. And with Oklahoma and Texas and their large traveling fanbases leaving, it's probably not necessary.
New team?
The Big 12 puts a big emphasis on softball, and Cincinnati could be required to eventually add softball as a varsity sport. The Big 12 overall has perennially competed for national championships. As with football, the conference will be looking to fill Oklahoma's void. The Sooners have won five national softball titles, including this year.
It's not currently a requirement for a Big 12 member school to have a softball team. But the conference will be left with five softball-playing schools when Texas and Oklahoma depart.
The additional Big 12 revenue shouldn't make adding softball a problem for Cincinnati long-term, but there's currently no room for a softball facility on Cincinnati's landlocked campus.
Contact Enquirer columnist Jason Williams by email at jwilliams@enquirer.com and on Twitter @jwilliamscincy