Over the next two days, the Big 12 unofficially kicks off its season tomorrow in Dallas as the Omni Hotel plays host to the conference’s media days.
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But Bowlsby doesn’t see the league at any real disadvantage with only 10 teams, despite Oklahoma President David Boren suggesting in the last month that the Big 12 is “psychologically disadvantaged” as the smallest of the five power conferences and should strive to again have 12 teams.
Kansas State coach Bill Snyder is a member of the contingent that believes the Big 12 needs more teams. “I think it’s the majority of our CEOs right now that believe likewise”. We have to get better.
Bowlsby said the league has held officiating and sportsmanship reviews in the off-season. “It will continue to be a topic about which we spend at least a little time at every meeting talking about it. But until that majority shifts, it’s a purely academic conversation”.
“It was a big success and I say that noting the disappointment I mentioned earlier”, Bowlsby said.
Bowlsby joked that if the next five years of technological leaps match the previous five, “we might be watching the Super Bowl on the inside of our eyelids”. Last year, the conference touted the slogan “One True Champion”, which proved false when TCU and Baylor shared the conference trophy. “What we determined was our guys weren’t using them anyway”, said Bowlsby.
According to the a release from the the Big 12, the new live contact policy applies to in-season practices and includes bye weeks.
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. “And adding people in the booth, keeping an eye on players on the field, the awareness obviously is much better now”.
“I think it’s because we are different”. “If they can get by on 11 days, we can certainly get by on twice that”. “But we think properly managed, those kinds of celebrations can be a lot of fun”.
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The Big 12 has gone one step beyond, creating a limit of two contact days – defined as tackling to the ground and helmet-to-helmet contact – with one during the week and one as game day.
