Big 12 can hold conference title game without expanding

The Big 12 now has the option of holding a conference championship game – if it wants one.

Following a Wednesday meeting, the NCAA Division I Legislative Council voted to allow an FBS conference without 12 members to have a conference title game in football, provided it plays a round-robin schedule. The vote passed 7-2 with the ACC and AAC voting against it and the Pac-12 opting not to vote.

The Big 12, with its current 10-member structure, previously could not hold a championship game. Now, the conference does not need to add new members in order to do so.

“This amendment keeps us from being forced to expand,” Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said Wednesday, per USA Today.

As evidenced by the exclusion of Baylor and TCU in 2014, the existence of a title game could be a major factor in a team’s chances of reaching the four-team College Football Playoff. On top of that, there is an obvious financial incentive at stake as well. According to USA Today, Bowlsby said after the meeting that the game “could be worth upward of $20 million to the league.”

Wednesday’s news does not necessarily mean the Big 12 will immediately decide to hold a championship game, however.

“It is too early to speculate on the impact this will have with our member institutions regarding a football championship game,” Bowlsby said in a statement.

“I appreciate that what was acted upon today takes into account our unique 10-team, full round-robin scheduling model. However, this vote does not automatically mean the Big 12 will implement a football championship game. Our membership will continue to analyze its pros and cons, as we now know the requirements should we decide to go down that path.”

It’s possible that a championship game could have a negative impact on a team’s playoff resume as well. If a team finishes second in the league with an 8-4 regular season record and beats an 11-1 team in the title game, it could potentially knock the 11-win team out of playoff contention. So there are some variables for the conference to consider, but all signs point toward the existence of a Big 12 championship game in 2016.