Big XII Media Day (Day 1: KU, TCU, OSU, TT, OU)

[TxFrog1999]

Ryann and I will be live posting quotes and news from today's Big XII Media Day here at Jerry's World. We'll be posting photos and video throughout the event.

Quick Links

1. Kansas - Les Miles
2. TCU - GMFP
3. OSU - Mike Gundy
4. Texas Tech - Matt Wells
5. OU - Lincoln Riley

Go Frogs.

 

[TxFrog1999]

First up Big XII Commissioner Bob Bowlsby.

"We've had a very good year competitively and financially."

Starts sining the praises of AT&T stadium and what the league has done here.

Big XII set attendance record for a conference championship game.

 

[TxFrog1999]

$38.8 Million distributed, 6% increase year over year. 7% of incoming income to the league was spent on league activities (championship game, staff and officials, and legal fees), the rest was distributed to member schools.

 

[TxFrog1999]

Focusing on safety will be a big part of this season, running through some of the changes we'll hear about from the head of officials shortly, including removing tandem blocks on kickoffs and changing how blindside hits are ruled.

 

[TxFrog1999]

Transfers haven't really increased since the new rules [uh huh, sure].

League is watching how laws handling legalized gambling and student rights bills are working through the various legislatures and court systems.

 

[TxFrog1999]

Changing environment how people are consuming sports between TV/online and in-person. Trends point to many troubling issues on the horizon. [no specifics on in-person issues facing the league, but it sounds like they've resigned to the fact that cable TV is declining with migration to streaming services]

 

[TxFrog1999]

Big XII Now is coming to all platforms this Fall, including being preinstalled on new Samsung TVs.

 

[TxFrog1999]

Big XII Now partnership with ESPN+ will carry over 800 Big XII events.

 

[TxFrog1999]

Discussing sponsorships with AT&T and Phillips 66.

 

[TxFrog1999]

Continuing and pushing forward with the Big XII channel on SiriusXM.

 

[TxFrog1999]

Looking to secure an anti-trust exemption and will be working towards that goal in DC this year.

 

[TxFrog1999]

Wants everyone to note about B12 defenses: 6 of 7 bowl opponents offenses were held below their season average by Big XII defenses.

"There are players in the B12 that can tackle"

 

[TxFrog1999]

"Top of our league is very good, with 10 great coaches." He doesn't envy the new coaches and the work they have ahead of them in building programs.

 

[TxFrog1999]

Opening the floor for questions...

 

[TxFrog1999]

Starting off with a questions about realignment [sigh]... "That's 7 years in a row that realignment was the first question, thanks for continuing tradition." [HA]

Nothing new, like the round robin, it's not an active topic.

[EDIT: that question was from our friends at FOW... ]

 

[TxFrog1999]

Two years into the Title Game, hasn't hurt B12 teams making the CFP, your thoughts on the game and how it affects rivalries between OU and Texas?

Doesn't think it diminishes competition, and nothing can keep that rivalry from becoming more intense.

 

[TxFrog1999]

Question about player suspensions concerning domestic violence or sexual assault.

"B12 already has a policy regarding that..." He's going over the details of the policy and the procedure the league expects from each member school.

 

[TxFrog1999]

 

[TxFrog1999]

Playoff expansion?

"We've had a lot of discussions and evaluating the current environment, and we feel the current setup is superior to the previous ones, but we will have some recommendations but right now we're not going to discuss what our conversations about this are at this time."

 

[WhatTheFrog]

Televised on FS2 as well if anyone's interested and has access to television.