Football season is almost upon us! Big 12 Media Days was the first conference to have their respective coaches and players talk to the public. There was a lot to unfold and discuss so let’s take a look at a few topics that were talked about:
Conference Ambition on Display (Commissioner Brett Yormark)
- Global footprint: Yormark marked the season opener in Dublin (Iowa State vs. Kansas State) as just the start of reaching new markets. He also has future plans for games in Mexico City and Paris. This would be just as huge for the Big 12 as it would be for the branding of college football as a whole. We’ve seen this continue to happen more in the NFL world but not as much for college football so this would be exciting for the sport.
- Modernized brand: Announced new partnerships (TNT, Bleacher Report, PayPal, Microsoft) and two media arms—Big12 Studios and Radio.
- Playoff stance: Strongly backed the “5+11” CFP format with conference champs plus at-large selections, earned on the field. He also dubbed the Big 12 “the deepest football conference in America” and pledged to compete for multiple CFP spots as early as this year. He wants his conference and believes his conference will earn it rather than going to a professional type of model. You have to love the belief that he has in how own product, so this year will be very important in stating his case for the future playoff format.
Parity & Transition
- With media attention on newcomers, coaches emphasized opportunity with Arizona State being cited as an example of success. Veteran voices like Utah’s Kyle Whittingham noted adapting to league’s variety and says how many good teams there are in this conference that all play different styles of football. This variety has led to no more preseason predictions or rankings from analyst networks because of how dead wrong they were last season. This has been a common theme for the Big 12 having different contenders each year since Texas and Oklahoma left for the SEC.
Matt Campbell on NIL
- Iowa State Head Coach Matt Campbell revealed that some of his top 20 players took a pay cut to stay, showing loyalty amid lucrative offers. He expressed his gratitude to his players for doing so and believing in something more than just the money. This has been a common theme for this team over the years, with few new players coming in or leaving via the portal. This kind of commitment and continuity is why Iowa State is consistently good on a year-to-year basis.
Scott Frost Reflects
- Nebraska Legacy and former Head Coach Scott Frost admitted he took the wrong job previously, preferring stability at UCF. He followed his heart rather than his head by going back to Nebraska since it was his alma-mater, but he had something special brewing up right before his eyes in UCF. He’s hoping to strike gold again with this team, turning them around, accelerating their rebuild at a faster pace to compete.
BYU Q&A
- Coach Kalani Sitake said QB Jake Retzlaff “can speak for himself,” amid rumors of transfer and honor-code issues. This is a classic Coach Sitake response, having his players back and also trying to stay out of the spotlight. Seems like Retzlaff transferring wasn’t what anyone really wanted to happen b,ut this situation kind of forced people’s hands.
Deion Sanders on Health & Spending/Team
- Coach Primed downplayed health concerns, saying he feels “blessed” and “not a care in the world”. This is not the first health scare the coach has had over the last few years, so hopefully he is feeling better, but something to monitor going forward.
- He called for a NIL spending limit and asked for a salary cap system. He argued that programs spending $25–30 million on freshman classes skew competition. Prime isn’t wrong that they’re should be more limits to the current structure and a tighter cap for spending. Locker rooms could get divided if certain players find out that other guys are making more money.
- Deion brought both of his QBs to media day because he says he doesn’t know which one will be the guy just yet. This shows how tight the battle is and how much respect he has for both those players and how well they’re handling themselves through all of this.
QB Competition Brewing in Stillwater
- Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy praised Zane Flores for having a really good off-season in the OSU QB battle. The slight lean is for transfer Hauss Hejny but Flores is giving him a good run for his money. Coach Gundy needs a big year after last season so picking the right QB will be crucial for him.
Coach Willie Fritz has high hopes for his QB
- Coach Fritz has high expectations for his potential QB Conner Weigman. Claims that he has clocked up to 21mph this off-season showing he’s in peak shape to prove the critics wrong. The former 5 star will have much to show after this being his second time transferring and third stop in his college career. How well he plays will ultimately factor into their record at the end of the season.
ASU in the building with swag and confidence
- Sam Leavitt was one of the key members in attendance for his team and what a difference a year can make. He was cool and collective when talking to the media. You can see how confident he is and happy he is to be in the situation he’s in. He emphasized how important it is for them to not rest on their laurels from last year and take this year completely different putting in even more work to be great. Sounds like a leader and expect a huge year 2 in this system the same way Bo Nix exploded onto the scene for Oregon under Dillingham.
- Coach Dillingham is a revelation. The guy is just different in all the good ways possible. He’s himself and real which could be a lost art in this sport. He has this nonchalant mentality about the outside noise and world but actually means it when he says it doesn’t phase him. This team needs a big year 2 to prove they’re here to stay but if they do watch out because this could turn into the next “blue blood” of the sport like he hopes they could be.
All in all, just having media days start up for college football means we are so close to the live action. The commissioner came out with some bold statements that he hopes his conference can back it up for him. Say what you want about the Big 12 but this is a deep conference. Even though it might not be as top heavy as some of the other conferences, they will have plenty of teams square in the race come seasons end.