LOS ANGELES – TCU’s unlikely run to the College Football Playoff Championship came at an extremely fortunate time for the Big 12.
“If you think about where this conference was held 18 months ago and the uncertainty and lack of stability, and you fast forward to today, that’s a game changer for us,” Commissioner Brett Yormark told AP at the CFP media day on Saturday .
Third-placed Horned Frogs meet No. 1 Georgia for the CFP title on Monday night at Sofi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
The Big 12 seemed in real danger of falling apart or being relegated to League Two status in the summer of 2021 when news broke that flagship members Texas and Oklahoma — the only schools to have won the national soccer title in the Big 12 – this planned to leave the league and join the Southeastern Conference.
Oklahoma was the only Big 12 team to make the college football playoffs prior to this season. The Sooners have never won a game in all four appearances. Texas was the last Big 12 team to play for a national championship when they lost to Alabama in the 2010 BCS title game.
The Horned Frogs jumped to the top of the conference this year but didn’t even win it. After an undefeated regular season, TCU fell to Kansas State in the Big 12 championship game in overtime.
It was the second straight season that neither Oklahoma nor Texas were involved in an exciting Big 12 title game. Baylor defeated Oklahoma State last season, but neither made it to the CFP.
The Horned Frogs, selected for seventh place in the conference preseason, had built a sufficient resume to earn the program’s first CFP spot and the first of the Big 12 since 2019, despite losing to K-State.
“We’re having positive conversations today, which I think is incredible for the conference and all of our member institutions,” said Yormark. “It allows us to really connect with new fans. It raises our national profile, which is of course crucial for me.”
Yormark is only six months into his tenure as Big 12 commissioner. The former executive at talent agency Roc Nation and CEO of Brooklyn’s Barclays Center was an unconventional choice to replace the retiring Bob Bowlsby.
The 56-year-old has emphasized brand building, creating innovative and new revenue streams, and trying to make the Big 12 conference cooler.
But as he told AP in October, nothing replaces winning.
“So we’re doing everything we can to reap the benefits and rewards of a great TCU season and we’re really looking forward to it,” said Yormark.
TCU will play with the full support of its rivals.
Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire said he has told Red Raiders fans who fear a TCU national title will bolster a conference rival he drew for the Frogs.
“It helps us,” he says.
The growing narrative that the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten, fueled by their monster media rights deals, will set themselves apart from the rest of the Power Five leagues is a bigger problem for the Big 12, McGuire said.
“I don’t think people understand how good this conference is,” McGuire said.
The strength of the Big 12 was their depth. Eight of its 10 teams played in bowl games and the conference produced top-to-bottom competitive games each week.
TCU went 9-0 in the conference regular season, with seven wins by 10 points or fewer. The Frogs also qualified as this playoff’s hot team with their hypnotoad vibes and gorgeous celebratory memes.
“You embody where these conferences are going, we’re a hard conference, we work hard,” Yormark said. “And despite the noise around us, we just rush forward.”
The Big 12 will advance next season with four new members — BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston — along with Texas and Oklahoma.
The Sooners and Longhorns are not scheduled to leave until after the current media rights deal between the Big 12 and ESPN expires in 2025. Yormark and the Big 12 have already agreed to an extension with broadcasters.
Despite this, Oklahoma and Texas remain contractually bound to the Big 12 for two more years. Getting out of these deals would be complicated and costly for schools.
“If there’s interest in an early exit and there’s a chance for all of us to win in that scenario, I’m open to exploring it,” Yormark said. “But as I sit here today, nothing has changed.”
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