Big 12 can forge future without duo
Expanded football playoff one big reason
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Oklahoma and Texas are leaving the Big 12.
So, where does that leave the conference?
News that would’ve been surprising a week ago but that became expected in recent days was made official Monday morning – Oklahoma and Texas gave notice to the Big 12 they would not extend their grant of rights when the league’s current agreement expires in 2025. A few hours later, the conference issued a statement acknowledging as much.
“Although our eight members are disappointed with the decisions of these two institutions, we recognize that intercollegiate athletics is experiencing rapid change and will most likely look much different in 2025 than it does currently,” Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said in the statement. “The Big 12 Conference will continue to support our member institutions’ efforts to graduate student-athletes and compete for Big 12 and NCAA championships.
“Like many others, we will use the next four years to fully assess what the landscape will look like in 2025 and beyond. The remaining eight institutions will work together in a collaborative manner to thoughtfully and strategically position the Big 12 Conference for continued success, both athletically and academically, long into the future.”
For all those words, there aren’t many specifics. I assume that’s partially because the Big 12 doesn’t have a lot of answers right now – the notion of the conference going forward without Oklahoma and Texas wasn’t on anyone’s radar this time last week – but even if conference leaders had more time to prepare and plan, answers would still be tough to come by.
What is the right thing to do? What should the remaining schools do?
This is important in our neck of the woods, of course, because it will have a huge impact on Oklahoma State. The Cowboys zoom to the head of the class without the Sooners and Longhorns, who formally applied to the Southeastern Conference for membership Tuesday. Oklahoma State has one of the most successful football programs in the country over the past 15 years, and with quality facilities and strong programs all across the athletic department, it has a leg up on the other seven schools.
What that ultimately means for Oklahoma State remains to be seen. Will it use that cachet to find a soft landing spot in another conference? Or will it become a leader – maybe even the leader – in the Big 12?
That depends on whether the remaining eight institutions are as committed to working together as Bowlsby’s statement makes it sound. I have no doubt the schools have said they are going to stick together, but I also have no doubt each of them is actively looking out for themselves, talking with other conferences, figuring out what happens if the whole thing falls apart.
But there are good reasons why the Big 12’s remaining schools should want to make a go of it – and ways they could make it happen.
Prime among the reasons to stay together is the promise of an expanded College Football Playoff. If the Big 12 holds itself together, it would almost certainly get its champion in the expanded playoff virtually every year. Under the proposed expansion to a dozen teams, the six highest-ranked conference champions would get automatic bids.
If the Big 12 maintained its standing as a Power Five league, an automatic bid would be, well, automatic, but even if the league fell back into the Group of Five range, it would be the strongest of that bunch.
Would expanding strengthen the Big 12? Would adding the likes of Houston and Cincinnati, BYU and Central Florida draw more TV viewers, satisfy the broadcast partners and solidify the league’s standing?
Frankly, those schools might also look better to one of the Big 12’s broadcast partners. The league has deals with ESPN and Fox. Fox might be interested in helping the Big 12 survive in order to bolster the network’s portfolio. The Big 12 might even be able to use its survival as leverage with Fox.
The Big 12 staying together might keep the market from skyrocketing on the networks, and Fox might well want that outcome. But will the Big 12 hang on?
It certainly can. There are ways the conference can survive the gut punch of losing Oklahoma and Texas, locking arms and forging a future. There are lots of reasons all of that makes sense for Oklahoma State and Iowa State, Kansas State and Kansas, TCU and West Virginia, Baylor and Texas Tech.
But will the schools stay together and be as committed to each other as they have vowed to be?
Of the answers that are tough to come by right now in the Big 12, that is toughest of all.