Why a 20 game conference schedule should happen
A piece of Big 12 news this week dropped that may have flown under the radar for most Big 12 fans. John Rothstein reported Tuesday, that next season the Big 12 conference is considering adding two games to the conference schedule for men’s and women’s basketball.
Currently, the Big 12 follows an 18-game schedule and could move to a 20-game format next season. The conference will be expanding to 16 teams in 2024 with the addition of the Pac 12’s four corner schools.
If the Big 12 stays at an 18-game schedule then only three games for each team that repeat. Expanding to 20 games creates more home and homes within conference play and everyone wins.
During this round of realignment, the conference is adding eight new teams over the next two seasons it is important for new rivalries to develop and preserve old rivalries as well.
Under an 18-game conference format BYU realistically could only protect their rivalry with Utah and would rotate through ASU, Arizona, and Colorado as teams they would play twice during the conference slate.
Expanding to a 20-game conference schedule would allow the Cougars to play more teams during conference twice and have higher profile home games for fans to attend.
For BYU fans who want Kansas, Baylor, Arizona, and other Big 12 powerhouses to come to Provo, they should be praying for as many conference games as they can get.
Adding two more conference games is a no-brainer. It would add more home games for schools and create more quality television matchups for the league’s television partners. Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark needs to showcase the best basketball conference in the country as much as he can.
“I’m a firm believer that basketball is undervalued,” Yormark said on the Marchand & Ourand Sports Media Podcast. “Basketball is being undervalued. When you think about the aggregate audience that we deliver to our media partners, basketball represents about 25% of that total audience, and it is growing. We’re not getting 25 cents on the dollar for basketball.”
That is why expanding to at least a 20-game conference schedule is the best outcome for the Big 12.
Logistically a 20-game conference schedule can be difficult because there are only nine weeks between January and March, the traditional slot for a conference schedule. With only 18 total slots for games during those nine weeks creates a problem.
No conference wants to play their games during Christmas break when television eyeballs and fan attendance are lower.
The good news is that the Big 10 already plays a 20-game conference slate and came up with a solution.
Play conference games at the beginning of December so students and fans are there!
This would give the Big 12 more flexibility in scheduling travel for a cross-country conference and it would give the Big 12 more exposure and create more hype headed into the meat of conference play in December. It is also the perfect time to capitalize on the football regular season-ending, where fans are starving for something to watch.
Expanding to at least a 20-game conference schedule is a win for fans, the conference, and the teams that play in the conference.
For a conference that is looking for every edge possible to compete with the Big 10 and SEC being the best and most notable basketball conference is crucial to the success of the Big 12. Especially since Yormark wants to sell basketball television rights separate from football television rights in the near future.
Playing 20 conference games is what the Big 12 needs.
