WITH THE BIG 12 HEADING into the meat of their round-robin schedule, all seems well in a league that once barely survived on self-inflicted life support. And yes, Texas — along with their Longhorn Network — is still the bell cow of the Big 12 conference and a major reason for the league’s success.
The Big 12 endured a tumultuous two-year span ….
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that saw four of the conference’s benchmark teams leave for supposedly greener pastures. First Nebraska and Colorado packed their bags, to the Big 10 and Pac 12, respectively, and this season Missouri and Texas A&M moved to the Southeastern Conference. In their place, the Big 12 added TCU and West Virginia — a golden choice in retrospect. The conference is stronger for the changes.
In September, the league announced a 13-year, $2.6 million television agreement with ESPN and FOX Sports Media Group. As part of the agreement, both companies now jointly share the conference’s football over-the-air and cable rights. ESPN continues to serve as the primary rights holder of Big 12 men’s basketball, including the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship.
“The stability of the Big 12 Conference is cemented,” Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said. “We’re positioned with the best media rights arrangements in collegiate sports, providing the conference and its members unprecedented revenue growth, and sports programming over two networks.”
Through the life of the agreement — which runs through 2024-25 — each of the Big 12’s 10 teams will receive an estimated $20 million per season from television revenue. Texas was already set to receive $15 million annually from ESPN and the Longhorn Network.
Based on the Big 12’s performance in the first half of the season, FOX and ESPN ended up with quite the bargain. West Virginia and Kansas State appear towards the top of the list in both collegiate football polls, while Oklahoma is within the top 10 after beating Texas. Baylor, Oklahoma State, TCU and Iowa State are all capable of upsetting one of the conference’s top three teams. Texas Tech proved that fact when they beat West Virginia, 49-14.
Without a doubt, a Big 12 team will have a major impact on the race to the national championship. Just don’t expect any of the conference’s teams to remain undefeated through the Big 12 gauntlet. Kansas State appears to have the early inside track on representing the league in a championship game, but they still need to play West Virginia (Nov. 20 in Morgantown, W. Va.). The Mountaineers also play Oklahoma and TCU at home and Oklahoma State in Stillwater. Kansas State has Oklahoma State and Texas in Manhattan, and TCU and Baylor on the road.
With so much left to be decided, the Longhorns can still be a major player. The Red River Rivalry game marked their final contest against the league’s toughest teams. Texas will have one of the easier schedules for the second half of the season. From this vantage point, the final game of the regular season will decide the Big 12 Champion.
The Longhorns will battle Kansas State in Manhattan for their final game, likely at night and in the bitter late-fall cold. However the conference race ends up, the games will provide prime viewing for television viewers — just the scenario ESPN and FOX executives hoped for.
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