Big 12 Football: NCAA compromise could lead to conference championship game

Big 12 football hasn’t had a conference title game since Nebraska lost to Oklahoma in 2010, but it looks like that may change soon.

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NCAA rules state that a conference must have 12 teams to hold a championship game. This is why the 10 team Big 12 hasn’t held one since the conference was realigned in 2010. However, a compromise between the NCAA and the Big 12 could resurrect the title game.

According to Brian Davis of the Austin American-Statesman, the Big 12 won the right to hold a title game between the top two teams in the conference. This is big development for the Big 12, and could have a huge impact on college football.

First, this means the Big 12 won’t have to expand. I don’t think they’re particularly fond of the idea, and this will buy them even more time to procrastinate any new additions.

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Second, this doesn’t mean the Big 12 will have a title game, it only gives them the option. I do think Bob Bowlsby wants to have a championship game, but by no means is this a done deal. The addition of a title game will come down to a vote among Big 12 athletic directors.

The conference will likely stick with its round-robin-type competition rather than divide the league in half. This will pit the Big 12’s two best teams against each other at the end of the year, which could harm their chances of getting a team into the playoff.

TCU and Baylor were both left out of the playoff in 2013 because there wasn’t a conference championship game. There’s obviously a fine line of risk-reward here.

If the Big 12 doesn’t have a title game, their best team might be left out of the playoff. If they do have a title game, their best team could get upset in the championship, and eliminated from playoff contention. Conferences with divisions based off of geography don’t always have this problem.

I think the Big 12 should do away with their round-robin schedule, add two new teams and split into two divisions, but it doesn’t look like that will happen any time soon.

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The Big 12 clearly believes this is a better option than adding two more teams to the conference. I think a Big 12 title game is better for college football and is a step in the right direction.

Besides, who doesn’t like more football?