At the start of Big 12 Media Days in Dallas on Monday, commissioner Bob Bowlsby announced a league-wide reduction of in-season live tackling opportunities in practice in an effort to reduce the number of injuries suffered by student-athletes.
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When reminded about Oklahoma’s president David Boren declaring in June that the Big 12 conference is disadvantaged in the new playoff system without 12 teams, Bowlsby disagreed. Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder added his support to expanding to 12 teams during his press conference. “Even if it doesn’t, we think that that’s the right way to conduct our practices”. We have to get better.
Previously, the conference allowed live contact three days per week. “It will continue to be a topic about which we spend at least a little time in every meeting talking about it. But until the majority shifts, it’s a purely academic conversation”.
The 2014 season, the first to feature the College Football Playoff, ended in a way that was “difficult to accept”, Bowlsby said.
The Big 12 is not going to have a championship game. It replaces the controversial “One True Champion” slogan of recent years. “We need to play better”. And I think that’s exactly where we’re at. “We have to win the big games when we have a chance to win the big games”.
Bowlsby said that he does expect the NCAA to deregulate current rules and allow the 10-team league to host a championship game if it chooses to in the future, though it will not hold a title game this year.
“We got left out”. The Atlantic Coast Conference, Southeastern Conference, Big Ten Conference, and the PAC 12 Conference all have championship games to determine the conference champion. Having said that, there isn’t any question that the nonconference schedule of each of our institutions affects the strength of each of the other members of our league.
Today, WVSports.com looks at the biggest storylines for the league and West Virginia heading into Big 12 Media Days. “But we think properly managed, those kinds of celebrations can be a lot of fun”.
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Those two announcements inspired a Big 12 motto change.
