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The Big 12 talk is not cooling off anytime soon. Yesterday, Dennis Dodd with CBS wrote an article about Max Weitzenhoffer, Oklahoma's Chairman of the board, and his strong disapproval of Big 12 expansion. First off, it should be noted that Weitzenhoffer just sounds like a person that is the chairman of a university, I feel like if you don't make millions with that last name, you're messing up.
Second, I am not sure how this is news, an old guy doesn't like change... shocker. Nonetheless, this does come as quite a surprise given that Oklahoma's school president, David Boren and the university themselves had been a strong proponent of expansion.
Mr. Weitzenhoffer especially turned heads when asked about the potential additions to the Big 12 when he said this:
"They have no seating capacities in their stadiums. They really don't build them up. They really don't have any TV. I really don't know what we have to gain by that."
Now, there have been some crazy hot takes floating around on why the Big 12 won't expand but this has not been one of them when referencing BYU.
Before we get to that, what does he mean by, "they really don't have any TV?" I mean, my understanding is that the four front runners, BYU, Cincinnati, UCONN and Colorado State all have electricity and I would assume that television is a popular commodity.
But I digress, what really has social media on fire is the stadium capacity comment. Twitter, what do you think about this shot at BYU's stadium size? How big relative to other Big 12 stadiums is it?
@dennisdoddcbs What does he mean by stadium capacity? As an example I think BYU would be the 3rd largest stadium in the Big 12.
— mudd (@muddymuddster) May 9, 2016
@dennisdoddcbs BYU's stadium would be the 3rd largest in the Big12. How could you fail to acknowledge that in your article?
— BostonCoug (@BostonCoug) May 9, 2016
@dennisdoddcbs apparently his own board has no clue that BYU's stadium capacity is bigger than all but UT and OU. https://t.co/HGu1CfMcXq
— CougarStats (@CougarStats) May 9, 2016
@dennisdoddcbs Weitzenhoffer overlooks the fact that BYU would have the third largest stadium in the B12. With amazing scenery to boot.
— Andrew Bean (@ahb4050) May 9, 2016
@dennisdoddcbs LOL, Weitzenhoffer isn't very bright, is he! #BYU would have 3rd largest stadium and their TV ratings would be in top half
— LIGHT IT UP BLUE!! (@TrueBlueNoU) May 9, 2016
@dennisdoddcbs How did you fail to mention that his main point is contradicted by fact that BYU/Memphis would be #'s 3/4 in capacity?
— Derek Wilcox (@DerekWilcox) May 9, 2016
Even the voice of the Cougars himself helped to answer this question:
For the record, I believe BYU would have the third-largest football stadium capacity in the Big 12, after Texas and Oklahoma.
— Greg Wrubell (@gregwrubell) May 9, 2016
Alright, well, glad we got that settled. Perhaps Max here is just referring to the non-BYU schools and is actually an informed individual.
@dennisdoddcbs Guys in their mid-70s aren't always the most forward-looking bunch. Running that league into the ground cuz they can't get ND
— PIFSTARTER (@PIFstarter) May 9, 2016
@dennisdoddcbs WOW, this just shows how behind on the times these B12 decision-makers are and how the conference got to this point, LOL
— D. Tich (@DTich16) May 9, 2016
@dennisdoddcbs you'd be hard pressed to read a more misguided and less asinine interview than what Max said. Utterly disrespectful!
— Sport Scoop (@greggoodrichou) May 9, 2016
@dennisdoddcbs this old clown is scared of bringing in teams that with big tv money wouldn't be a cupcake like Texas tech or Kansas
— Michael Jones (@UCFMike21) May 9, 2016
Welp, never mind.