MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — The Big 12 Conference sprung from the old Big Eight, a bunch of entirely public and largely agricultural schools. Now, the busy Power Five conference is adding BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF, and four more schools are poised to join next year, creating a footprint that will soon stretch from the sands of Florida to Arizona. The ties that bound so many of the schools are long gone, emblematic of the lost allegiances in college football in general. Shared history and cultural norms, along with geographic sensibilities, have been cast aside as leagues such as the Big 12 pursue every last dollar to fund not just their football and basketball teams but their entire athletic programs.
