BOREN: In addition, as Commissioner Bowlsby has already said, we also had a discussion of the future makeup of the conference going forward‑‑ the entire structural issues for the conference, how to make the conference stronger. And a number of universities, as you well know, have contacted the Big 12 to express interest in our conference.
And the board today directed the commissioner to actively evaluate their interests and to report back those evaluations which he will make back to the board at a future board meeting.
So there was continued interest expressed and expansion and the direction to the commissioner, I think, reflects that and we will look forward to receiving back from him the information that he gathers as he evaluates the interests of all of those who have contacted us, the other universities.
BOREN: Obviously we want to find, if we are to expand, we want to find the strongest possible partners for expansion. And we talk about strong partners. We're not talking about just athletic partners, which of course that's very important; what is the fan base; what is the TV following, the broadcast following of these teams. But also what are the academic standards of these schools, what reputations do these schools have as institutions of integrity and shared values with us.
So there are a number of factors that will be considered and that the commissioner, I will let him speak to it, will be evaluating as he contacts these schools that have expressed interest to us.
BOWLSBY: On negotiating a new contract while one is current
Well, you know we have provisions in our existing contracts that were negotiated along with the 12‑year agreements that we made. And those stipulations were put in the contracts in anticipation of the possibility of fluctuations.
And not only do they address very specifically the additions of institutions, but they also address the deletion of institutions. So the contract was anticipatory of the change that is present in college athletics, and I have to give a lot of credit to Kevin Sweeney, our counsel, for having the foresight to negotiate these things and have them in their contracts.
So we expect to exercise the full prerogatives of what we negotiated
BOREN: On if this is a positive move ahead for expansion
I think it's a statement from the board that we want to move forward. We've had discussion of the attributes of some of those schools that have come to us and expressed interest. And that we want to move forward and have a full evaluation of exactly the level of their interest, what kind of proposals they might make to us in terms of terms and conditions for joining the conference.
So I would say, yes, it's a forward step. It's a positive step. It's not yet a decision, if any particular university or college ‑‑ or even a definite decision about when we expand or the way, the form this would take. But it's definitely a forward step, and I think it shows momentum on the board to very seriously consider this as a possibility.
BOREN: On if there are certain criteria you will look at candidates
Well, as I said a while ago we're not looking at any one factor. Obviously we're look at the strength of the athletic programs, their competitiveness. We're looking at the fan base; we're looking at access to media markets. And also we're very much looking at the reputations of these institutions for integrity. We're looking at the academic standards of these universities, the level of research and teaching at these institutions.
So we're looking at a whole composite of factors not just any one factor. So it's really impossible to single out any one. All of those things will come into play and we'll be able to look at, say, a range of how these universities compare, those that have expressed interest to us, how they compare with each other in all of those categories. And we're very seriously concerned about all those categories, because we obviously stand for athletic competitiveness, winning in the right way.
We also stand for academic excellence. When we use the term student‑athlete, we use that very seriously and that's just not a slogan.
BOREN: If they are looking at schools in a Power Five conference
I think it would be inappropriate to comment about what teams have expressed interest to us. I want to underline the fact that‑‑ that the Big 12 Conference has not gone out and sought conversations with other schools. Other schools have come to us. It's a nice position to be in. Sometimes you may think you have to change your cell phone number because the number of schools that want to express interest in coming to join the Big 12 Conference. It's nice to be in a position where you're wanted, and we've certainly been made to feel wanted by a lot of colleges and universities across the country.
That's really the situation. They're coming to us. We're not attempting to go out and recruit. There's no need to do that. We have a lot of volunteers who are coming to us, and now we're simply going to move forward to the next step and make sure that we very seriously evaluate their interests.
And as I said, the question earlier, I think, we sort of intertwined the whole question of expansion with whether or not we were going to have a conference network. But there's still many other advantages, as you look at what's happened with other conferences.
And the board today directed the commissioner to actively evaluate their interests and to report back those evaluations which he will make back to the board at a future board meeting.
So there was continued interest expressed and expansion and the direction to the commissioner, I think, reflects that and we will look forward to receiving back from him the information that he gathers as he evaluates the interests of all of those who have contacted us, the other universities.
BOREN: Obviously we want to find, if we are to expand, we want to find the strongest possible partners for expansion. And we talk about strong partners. We're not talking about just athletic partners, which of course that's very important; what is the fan base; what is the TV following, the broadcast following of these teams. But also what are the academic standards of these schools, what reputations do these schools have as institutions of integrity and shared values with us.
So there are a number of factors that will be considered and that the commissioner, I will let him speak to it, will be evaluating as he contacts these schools that have expressed interest to us.
BOWLSBY: On negotiating a new contract while one is current
Well, you know we have provisions in our existing contracts that were negotiated along with the 12‑year agreements that we made. And those stipulations were put in the contracts in anticipation of the possibility of fluctuations.
And not only do they address very specifically the additions of institutions, but they also address the deletion of institutions. So the contract was anticipatory of the change that is present in college athletics, and I have to give a lot of credit to Kevin Sweeney, our counsel, for having the foresight to negotiate these things and have them in their contracts.
So we expect to exercise the full prerogatives of what we negotiated
BOREN: On if this is a positive move ahead for expansion
I think it's a statement from the board that we want to move forward. We've had discussion of the attributes of some of those schools that have come to us and expressed interest. And that we want to move forward and have a full evaluation of exactly the level of their interest, what kind of proposals they might make to us in terms of terms and conditions for joining the conference.
So I would say, yes, it's a forward step. It's a positive step. It's not yet a decision, if any particular university or college ‑‑ or even a definite decision about when we expand or the way, the form this would take. But it's definitely a forward step, and I think it shows momentum on the board to very seriously consider this as a possibility.
BOREN: On if there are certain criteria you will look at candidates
Well, as I said a while ago we're not looking at any one factor. Obviously we're look at the strength of the athletic programs, their competitiveness. We're looking at the fan base; we're looking at access to media markets. And also we're very much looking at the reputations of these institutions for integrity. We're looking at the academic standards of these universities, the level of research and teaching at these institutions.
So we're looking at a whole composite of factors not just any one factor. So it's really impossible to single out any one. All of those things will come into play and we'll be able to look at, say, a range of how these universities compare, those that have expressed interest to us, how they compare with each other in all of those categories. And we're very seriously concerned about all those categories, because we obviously stand for athletic competitiveness, winning in the right way.
We also stand for academic excellence. When we use the term student‑athlete, we use that very seriously and that's just not a slogan.
BOREN: If they are looking at schools in a Power Five conference
I think it would be inappropriate to comment about what teams have expressed interest to us. I want to underline the fact that‑‑ that the Big 12 Conference has not gone out and sought conversations with other schools. Other schools have come to us. It's a nice position to be in. Sometimes you may think you have to change your cell phone number because the number of schools that want to express interest in coming to join the Big 12 Conference. It's nice to be in a position where you're wanted, and we've certainly been made to feel wanted by a lot of colleges and universities across the country.
That's really the situation. They're coming to us. We're not attempting to go out and recruit. There's no need to do that. We have a lot of volunteers who are coming to us, and now we're simply going to move forward to the next step and make sure that we very seriously evaluate their interests.
And as I said, the question earlier, I think, we sort of intertwined the whole question of expansion with whether or not we were going to have a conference network. But there's still many other advantages, as you look at what's happened with other conferences.
