FWST: Big 12 memo clouds the league’s expansion message

Just when you thought things could not get more embarrassing for the Big 12, which spent most of Tuesday taking potshots from pundits for Monday’s decision to pass on league expansion because of a unanimous agreement by conference presidents, an internal memo obtained by ESPN.com puts the league back in the comedic crosshairs.

The website shared a 714-word league memo addressing talking points for Monday night’s news conference that raise questions about whether Big 12 decision-makers truly finished in one accord on the expansion front after a public process that began on July 19.

The first two items instructed officials to “Indicate the Board arrived at a ‘Unanimous Consensus’” and say “the Board was unanimous in its desire and commitment to stay at 10 members.”

The memo also suggested conference officials should not “indicate that TV influenced (its) decision” and that the Big 12 was not “psychologically disadvantaged” because it did not expand after conducting in-person meetings with administrators from 11 schools considered finalists in the expansion deliberations.