Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby yesterday said that the conference is "not moving forward with plans to add" a title game, according to Max Olson of ESPN.com. Bowlsby last week said he sensed the league "will probably move in that direction." But yesterday at the league's spring meetings, he said that Big 12 ADs "believe there isn't enough evidence" after one year of the CFP to "justify such a significant move." Bowlsby: "We may find ourselves in better shape than some other conferences as a result of our model, not in spite of our model." Olson noted the Big 12 will "continue to push for NCAA deregulation that would permit the conference to stage a title game, but that's not a path the conference is ready to go down." Bowlsby: "I just think it's a process. That isn't to say we won't ever consider those things again or that we won't talk more tomorrow, but I just am not sensing that that's where we're heading." He added that there is "no interest" in expanding the Big 12 "in order to fix" the problem (ESPN.com, 5/5). USA TODAY's George Schroeder writes under the header, "For Big 12 Football Championship, The Right Move Is No Move." The "best news is the league isn’t jumping to conclusions." Yesterday was a "180-degree turnaround from Bowlsby’s comments after a discussion last week" with CFP Selection Committee Chair Jeff Long. The league will "stay put" after facing "significant opposition" from several ADs. The existing NCAA rule, which "requires leagues to have at least 12 members and two divisions, must be altered before any change could occur, anyway" (USA TODAY, 5/6). When asked if he overreacted to Long's interpretation of the conference being at a disadvantage by not having a title game, Bowlsby said, "Maybe I did. I'm not immune to that" (CBSSPORTS.com, 5/5).
