Over the course of the last year or so, we’ve seen the Big 12 become the unquestioned No. 3 among the power conferences.
Sure, the ACC has traditional football powers like Clemson and Florida State, but they are trying their hardest to get out of the conference, and could even be looking at the Big 12 as a potential landing spot.
At Big 12 Media Days this week, UCF athletic director Terry Mohajir took things a step further, though. He’s confident that the league is headed toward a future in which they are a top-two conference in the picture.
In an interview with BYU Sports Nation, Mohajir was asked about thoughts on where the Big 12 is headed as a conference.
“I really think that we’ll be a top two conference, there’s no doubt in my mind,” Mohajir said. “Look at our footprint, and look at the geography of our footprint. We got Florida, we got the East Coast, we got California, and we got Texas. You can’t get any better than that. I think if we continue to hire the right personnel, the right people, we evaluate, we recruit, and we develop – like a lot of the coaches do a great job of in this league – we’ll be as good as anybody.”
Mohajir then made the point that success isn’t directly correlated to who has the most money.
“Everybody gets so tripped up on money and finances, right? Which athletic department has the most money,” Mohajir asked, getting answers like Alabama, Georgia, and Oregon.
“Texas. Texas is far and away, probably bigger than anybody. How many national championships have they won in football in the last 15 years? That’s not a slam. They’ve obviously hired a really good coach, and they’re back at the playoffs, but money is not the reason why you win.
“The Big Ten has more money than the SEC – they just do. Their revenues and their broadcast TV rights are more than the SEC. But the SEC’s not afraid to play anybody in the Big Ten, right? Now, we’re not gonna have half as much money right now as them, but I do think that’s why you have a guy like Brett Yormark. With the marketing acumen that he has, the business opportunities that he’s trying to create, and the commercial wherewithal that he has, we’re gonna get up there. What does it take? Do you have to have the same amount of money? No, you don’t. It’s proven over and over and over the years. In the last 50 years or half a century, you don’t have to have the most money to be very successful. You just have to have the right coaches, the right personnel, and you’ve got to have the right geography.”
