Iowa State president Steven Leath discusses Big 12 expansion and how he is handling
Big 12 expansion news has been shrouded in sources and people familiar with the situation and during the process those have been 50/50 at best. Some of that changed as Iowa State president Steven Leath, answering questions from the Iowa State Daily staff in a meeting streamed on Facebook Live, said, “I think you’ll see a different Big 12 in the somewhat near future.”
Leath dived deeper into more expansion specifics where he mentions a timeline of maybe expansion lasting until Christmas and that if there are the right schools then he would be in favor the Big 12 adding teams.
“The sentiment of the [presidents] was, let’s take a serious look and see who’s out there, who wants to join,” he said. “We’re spending a lot of time and money to that end, so I suspect that’s where we’re going to end up, … [and] that would be my expectation.”
He also specifically commented on BYU as that is the school he is hearing from that school the most; both positive and negative. Leath is going through everything that is being sent and is researching the Honor Code and says that he wants to make sure each team gets a fare deal and be thorough.
“I’m getting considerable input on both sides of the issue,” said Leath, referring to emails he’s received regarding BYU. “It’s a school of integrity, they play by the rules, quality program, and people that have been there had great experiences and we should consider BYU.
“I’m getting an equal number that send me their Honor Code, their [discomfort] with a number of their social issues. And then there’s a smaller group that says from a logistical standpoint, the fact they can’t compete on Sundays, the complexity especially of schools as far as away as West Virginia make it unworkable.
“I’m getting more input from individuals on BYU than any other school.”
Leath has been Iowa State’s president since 2012 and he also serves as the Big 12’s representative on the NCAA Division I Board of Directors.
Here is the entire clip of Leath discussing Big 12 expansion.
