Bob Bowlsby figured the question would come early during his 30-minute Q-and-A with reporters covering Big 12 Media Days on Monday. “And I favor a championship game”, Snyder said, according to Kellis Robinett of the Wichita Eagle.
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Repeated contact has been shown to lead to increased head injuries and even long-term brain damage.
While it doesn’t seem that Big 12 expansion is imminent, it was still a topic of discussion at the Big 12’s Media Days.
But, the restrictions are sure to be used against the league in recruiting, with opposing coaches telling recruits that fewer full-contact practices will limit a player’s development, and ultimately effect his NFL draft status.
The Pac-12 actually spearheaded the major conference limited contact movement in 2013 when it said it would limit its contact practices to twice a week, something only the Ivy League was doing at the time.
While Bowlsby expects future deregulation to allow the possibility of a championship game, he believes the round-robin schedule is still the best way to determine the league champion. “That was the Big 12 Conference and the SEC”. “One year does not make a trend”.
“At the present time, I don’t think there’s critical mass for expansion”, Bowlsby said.
“What we determined is that our [coaches] weren’t using them anyway”, Bowlsby said.
“We have to recruit better”.
“It is my understanding that at the present time, the majority of our presidents and chancellors believe that 10 is the right number for us”, Bowlsby said in a video statement. “But until the majority shifts, it’s purely academic conversation”. “I could capably argue either side of it from a mandatory standpoint because I think coaches need to have prerogative in terms of how they get their team ready. But we think properly managed, those kinds of celebrations can be a lot of fun”. If anything, Bowlsby said, it’ll keep teams more rested toward the end of the season. “On the other hand, kids that have histories don’t seem to have too much problem finding a place that they can go and play college sports”, he said.
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The Big 12 also announced that it would be restricting live contact opportunities to just two times a week, including game-day.
