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Report: Mitt Romney 'lobbying' for BYU to Big 12

Mitt Romney went to BYU (Getty Images)
Mitt Romney went to BYU (Getty Images)

While Mitt Romney won’t be endorsing Donald Trump for president, he’s reportedly stumping for BYU’s inclusion into the Big 12.

The 2012 Republican presidential candidate wants to see the Cougars in the conference if the Big 12 expands. And according to the Austin American-Statesman’s Kirk Bohls, he’s been making calls on BYU’s behalf.

Bob Bowlsby remains very mum about the process that could lead to Big 12 expansion, but one Big 12 school official said 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has called power brokers, including Oklahoma State’s T. Boone Pickens, lobbying for support for BYU to join the conference. Romney is a BYU grad.

The report isn’t too surprising. If BYU was going to choose someone to lobby on its behalf, it can do far, far worse than a graduate who is a former major party presidential candidate.

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And even if that isn’t enough gravitas, Romney was in charge of the Salt Lake Olympic Committee when the city hosted the 2002 Winter Games. Romney wasn’t originally on the committee but was recruited to be the head of the committee as it recovered from bribery allegations and budget issues.

Will it work? We’re likely not going to find out for a bit. The Big 12 expansion timeline still seems fluid and BYU’s mandate against Sunday competition for religious reasons could be a stumbling block when it comes to non-football sports. But if Romney can help make the Olympics successful, pushing for his school to get into the Big 12 doesn’t seem like a Herculean task.

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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!