Day one of Big 12 Media Days is officially in the books. It was a day filled with plenty of excitement and anticipation out in Las Vegas. Between all the coaches, players, and scenery, there was a lot to take away. And while I am excited to see what day two has in store, I wanted to share my biggest storylines from day one.
Brett Yormark is All Business
Right off the bat, the Big 12 commissioner talked about the growing sponsorship and ticket business. He also mentioned that he was on board with the NCAA approving schools to have corporate logos on the field.
Outside of the business talk, I really liked what he said about the conference. Yormark said, “We’ve solidified ourselves as one of the top three conferences in America.”
Brett also described the Big 12 as the “deepest” football league in the country and said the conference is “more relevant now than ever before.”
And it seems like Brett isn’t satisfied with just being in the top three, saying, “I will not stop until we are the No. 1 conference in America.” I think it’s safe to say that the Big 12 has the right man running the show.
Mike Gundy Said What?
When talking about running back Ollie Gordon III’s DUI arrest last week, Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy had some very interesting things to say.
“So, I looked it up on my phone. What would be the legal limit, like in Oklahoma, it is .08, and Ollie was .1, and it was, based on body weight, not to get into the legal side of it, and I thought, really, two or three beers, or four, I’m not justifying what Ollie did, I’m telling you what decision I made, and I thought, I’ve probably done that 1,000 times in my life. And it was just fine. I got lucky. People get lucky.”
One of the reasons I like Mike Gundy so much is that he is about as honest as they come. He isn’t afraid to say what’s on his mind. And while I do appreciate that, I am not sure if Big 12 media days was the place to say this out loud. I understand where he is coming from, but it could have been worded much better. Later in the day, Mike tweeted about his comments from earlier.
Joey McGuire Loves Us
When our own Matthew Postins asked Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire a question, Joey gave us a nice shoutout. Before answering Matt’s question, Joey said, “First off, I love what y’all do. I am a big fan. I really appreciate what y’all do and how y’all cover this conference and college football.”
Well, thank you, coach. Our own Pete Mundo started this website a decade ago due to the lack of coverage and the lack of respect for this conference. Since then, he has brought some great people along the way (including myself, of course) to help out. At one point, we were lucky to get five pageviews a day, and now we have had multiple million-plus pageview months. This site would be nothing without our readers, and we appreciate you reading too, coach.
No Love Lost in Utah
While Utah and BYU haven’t played against one another in three years, that doesn’t mean the hatred is still there when it comes to the Holy War. When asked about the BYU-Utah rivalry at Big 12 Media Days, Utah quarterback Cam Rising said, “I just want to go down there and whoop their ass pretty much. That’s all I’m focusing on.”
This is exactly the kind of stuff the Big 12 needs. The Holy War is the perfect rivalry for this conference, and I am so glad to have it here. November 9th can’t get here fast enough!
Welcome to the New Big 12
When I sit back and think about everything that happened on Tuesday, I can’t help but smile. We have an excellent conference commissioner in Brett Yormark, and it seems like the Big 12 is in much better shape than it was a few years ago.
The conference has added eight schools in the last two years, and I am so excited to have them here. The Big 12 now has 16 schools across three time zones. And like Brett Yormark said, it will be the most competitive conference from top to bottom in college football. This isn’t just any conference; this is America’s Conference. Welcome to the new Big 12, folks. Buckle up and enjoy the ride.
