East Carolina Pirates: Tweeting to the Big 12

The East Carolina Pirates are known for being a good football school with a passionate fan base. They were a staple of Conference USA football during its heyday and are now a member of the American Athletic Conference.

Yet the promised land of big conference football has never delivered. ECU fans have been knocking on the door of the ACC for years, only to be ignored. There have been wistful glances at the SEC, but nothing more than that.

Conference expansion allowed East Carolina to improve its position, but only into one of the five conferences that does not get automatic consideration into the Alliance Bowls. Before Sunday, it seemed that was best the Pirates could do. There were no open seats to the Power Five table.

The first College Football Playoff Announcement changed that. The committee took Ohio State, a conference champion, over Baylor and TCU of the Big 12. The Big 12 almost immediately began discussing how to improve their situation. The first thing they pointed at was the lack of a Big 12 Championship Game. The League that promised ‘One True Champion’ could deliver none.

The Big 12 is considering several options to get a Championship game. They have considered getting a waiver of the twelve team requirement. They also have to have considered further expansion. Current Big 12 media deals are based on the ten team league and would have to be adjusted so there is a fair amount of work that would have to be done.

So where do you find those two teams? Let’s look at the options…

Next: Texas Add-Ons