The Cincinnati Bearcats became official Big 12 members, but on a partial share of TV revenue, on July 1 along with UCF and Houston from the American Athletic Conference and BYU from the Western Athletic Conference. That raises UC's media rights revenue from roughly $7 million to somewhere between $18-19 million on a partial share for the next two seasons until they become full-share members in year three.
"Then, it's the full share (nearly $32 million per school), which is a true windfall for us," Cunningham said. "We've had to be very strategic about our budgeting as we want to continue to grow the right way.