Big 12 reportedly exploring alliance with ACC and 2 other leagues

In an effort to reap the benefits of conference expansion without actually adding more teams, the Big 12 is exploring an alliance with the ACC and two other unspecified leagues, according to Kirk Bohls.

The alliance would benefit all leagues involved due to scheduling, marketing and potential television partnerships.

While nothing official is on the horizon, Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said that the topic will be discussed at the two-day meetings of the league’s athletic directors, which will begin on Monday.

The move is only considered to be in its exploratory stages at this point, but any deal would include football and basketball, with the potential to later expand to other sports.

Bowlsby described the potential move as a “friends with benefits” situation. The deal would actually put future expansion on hold with the conferences involved but still allow the schools to get some of the benefits.

The other two teams involved in the deal haven’t been released, but early speculation is that the Pac-12 could be involved, given the close proximity the conference shares with the Big-12.