Oklahoma president supports Cincinnati’s hopes for a Big 12 bid

Now that Cincinnati is in the American Athletic Conference, outside of the auto-bid structure for a New Year’s Six Bowl and away from all of the big money that comes with power conferences, the Bearcats are looking to make the move up.

The obvious destination has been the Big 12, which only has 10 members. Big 12 leaders have gone on record that they want to add teams, and one powerful Big 12 member seems to be in Cincinnati’s corner.

The Cincinnati Enquirer found that Oklahoma president David Boren emailed Cincinnati president Santa Ono with support for the Bearcats.

“You are truly an outstanding leader and knowing that you are at the helm in Cincinnati makes me even more inclined to support your cause,” said Boren, a former Oklahoma governor and U.S. senator.

Whichever conference it ends up joining, Ono told the Enquirer he is optimistic about how the Bearcats stack up.

“I am indeed optimistic that through these efforts the University of Cincinnati is positioned exceptionally well to continue to compete at the highest level,” Ono told The Enquirer in his first public comments about the efforts to move to the Big 12.

This likely won’t be decided soon, and Cincinnati will have to fight with UConn, BYU and others for a spot. But Cincinnati seems to like the spot it’s in.