KU’s Bill Self praises the Big 12’s newest members: ‘I thought they were good adds.’

Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self on Wednesday had positive things to say about the four new members of the Big 12 Conference: BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston.

“I personally think it’s a good add,” Self said of the foursome. He offered his first public comments on recent Big 12 expansion in an interview with The Star at the conclusion of Wednesday’s eighth and final Boot Camp conditioning session of the 2021-22 preseason.

“I think from a football standpoint, which I am not an expert on, you bring in three programs that have had (success of late). BYU I believe was just recently 11-1 (in 2020). UCF was just recently 13-0 I believe (in 2017). Cincinnati was preseason No. 7 in the Top 10 this year. Houston … Dana will do a great job at Houston,” Self added of former West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen, who is in his third season with the Cougars.

“So I think it’s great for football and from a men’s basketball standpoint, there’s no question those all are programs that have potential to be Sweet 16 programs. I thought they were good adds,” Self repeated.

Houston under former Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson reached the Final Four last season. The Cougars were runner-up in the NCAA Tournament in both 1983 and ‘84. UH is located in the fourth largest city in the country, a strong area for the recruitment of high school players.

Cincinnati, which won NCAA men’s basketball titles in 1962 and ‘63, last reached the Final Four in 1992 under current West Virginia coach Bob Huggins. Central Florida, located in Orlando, Florida, plays in $107 million Addition Financial Arena which opened in 2007. BYU, which reached the Elite Eight in 1981, has compiled a 44-15 record in two seasons under coach Mark Pope.

The four schools were added to the Big 12 officially on Sept. 10 in response to Texas and Oklahoma announcing plans to leave for the SEC.

Commissioner likes the four additions, too

Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby also spoke glowingly of the four incoming Big 12 schools as halftime guest of the Jayhawk Radio Network at Saturday’s KU-Baylor football game at Booth Memorial Stadium.

“We didn’t have any advance notice and we were obviously shocked (by OU and Texas electing to leave league), but over a period of time we were able to right the ship and start thinking about what the new Big 12 looks like,” Bowlsby said.

“I think we went out and found an organization with a world-wide fan following in BYU. I think we found three great football programs (Houston, CFU, Cincinnati) that are in terrific recruiting areas that have really high top ends, not only in football but in a lot of other things as well, so we’re excited about the future.

“I think all things basketball in Kansas are important and I think our our basketball league is going to be better than it was before,” Bowlsby added. “Im excited about every aspect of it.”

Asked by KU radio play-by-play announcer Brian Hanni to pinpoint the timetable for the four schools to start playing Big 12 Conference games, Bowlsby said Saturday: “I think it’s certain that BYU will join in 2023 and play football with us in the fall of ’23; and everything else (other sports) as well.

“The others have said no later than July 1 of ’24, but that’s mostly because they have some obligations with their own conference. I think they’ll try and extricate themselves early and I fully expect we’ll have them playing in ’23 as well,” Bowlsby noted.

Asked about possibly adding additional teams to the Big 12 in the future, Bowlsby said: “I’m not going to make any predictions on that but you know we are in a changing and evolving environment. I think our eight continuing members are very close knit and feel like they have a great future together so I don’t worry about us losing anybody, but there may be a time when strategy will tell us we need to get bigger, or other leagues get bigger and we need to do likewise, or there may just be targets of opportunities. Somebody that comes forward and says, ‘We’re not happy where we are but we think the Big 12 might be a good place for us,’ so we just need to keep our eyes open and and be ready. There’s an evolution that’s happening and we need to make sure we try and stay on the front side of it.”

KU versus BYU, Cincy, Houston, UCF

Here’s a look at how KU has fared in men’s basketball and football against the four new members of the Big 12:

KU’s basketball program is 4-1 versus BYU all-time, 5-2 versus Houston, 3-4 against Cincinnati and 0-0 against Central Florida. KU football is 3-0 vs. Houston, 1-0 vs. BYU and 1-1 versus Cincinnati. KU has yet to play CFU in football.

KU’s last basketball meeting against Cincinnati was on Dec. 4, 1996 in Chicago. The Jayhawks won the Great Eight matchup, 72-65. KU lost to Cincinnati, 82-71, in a second-round NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional game on March 12, 1960 in Manhattan, Kansas. KU is 1-1 in against the Bearcats in Lawrence and 1-2 in Cincinnati.

KU defeated BYU, 71-56, on Nov. 26, 2019 at the Maui Invitational in the last meeting between the schools. KU beat BYU, 90-76, on March 20, 1993 in a second round NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional game in Chicago. KU is 1-0 vs. BYU in Lawrence and 0-1 in Provo, Utah.

KU’s last meeting against Houston resulted in a 95-78 Jayhawk victory on Nov. 20, 2001 at the Maui Invitational. KU defeated Houston, 78-77, in a first-round NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional game on March 18, 1971 in Wichita. KU lost to the Cougars, 66-53, in a first-round NCAA Midwest Regional game on March 17, 1967 in Lawrence. KU is 2-1 vs, .Houston in Lawrence and 0-1 in Houston.

In football, KU beat BYU, 23-20, in the 1992 Aloha Bowl in Honolulu, Hawaii and defeated Houston, 42-13, in the 2005 Fort Worth Bowl in Texas.