Since the Big 12 has pushed forward expansion in recent days, teams are obviously vying for a chance to join the conference. For all we know, this could be their only chance to get into a Power 5 conference.
So far, Houston as received an endorsement from the Governor of Texas, and now other schools are looking to get creative in order to increase their standing with the Big 12. Well, everyone except East Carolina, who instead had their athletic director send out this statement.
The full text of that statement:
I believe strongly that East Carolina deserves to be in the Big 12 as we can deliver the entire state of North Carolina. We have been positioning ourself to be the next member for the past 12 months and will continue to do so.
That is... one very awkward statement.
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Sure, East Carolina should be doing what it can to get into the Big 12, and it wouldn't have hurt to do something in public form since no one seems to be talking about them. However, this shouldn't have been a statement that ever happened. It makes East Carolina look pretty underwhelming, and the statement comes off as someone trying to pull illicit backroom deal instead of talking about a college football conference.
"We can deliver the entire state of North Carolina."
Really? Well that's great and all, but coming from the athletic director in a public statement, this sounds more like a beggar using their last chip to try and negotiate a deal. The statement reads like it should be coming from someone that is not affiliated with the school giving an off-the-cuff answer to why East Carolina should be in the Big 12. But instead, it's an actual statement from the school? Yikes.
Maybe next time, they will stick to the "we're excited about the opportunity" type statement, if releasing a statement at all is even necessary. If you really think you can get in the Big 12, you can do better than this.
