The Big 12 spring meetings, which wrapped up on Friday, brought new insights into the conference’s goals and stances on key issues.
It also sparked some lighthearted fun from BYU coach Kalani Sitake.
Here are the top takeaways from this year’s spring meetings.
All 16 head football coaches vote on 24-team CFP format
The main topic of discussion at this year’s spring meetings was the future of the College Football Playoff and its proposed expansion to 24 teams.
Big 12 Conference commissioner Brett Yormark has been in strong favor of the proposed format.
“I’ve spent some time studying what 24 means,” he told KSL Sports. “There’s still a lot of work that needs to be done, but in theory, I like it.”
Following the commissioner’s lead, all 16 coaches voted in favor of the new format, making the Big 12 Conference the second Power 4 conference to vote in favor of the 24-team CFP.
“I think 24 would be a great size,” Houston head coach Willie Fritz told CBS Sports. “It would give a lot of meaning to late-season games.”
Big 12 schools vote to participate in College Sports Commission
The Big 12 made its mark as the first Power 4 conference to have each of its member universities sign the participation agreements with the College Sports Commission.
“The Big 12 wants rules and enforcements,” said Yormark. “I think signing the participation agreement certainly is indicative of that.”
The CSC is an independent governing body that enforces regulations on NIL deals, revenue sharing and roster limitations. A result of the NCAA settlement last year, the commission analyzes third-party NIL deals through its platform NIL Go.
The CSC has cleared more than 26,000 NIL deals with more than $240 million since its inception.
Big 12 commissioner advocates for BYU after last year’s CFP snub
“I think BYU should have made the CFP last year,” said Yormark. “There was a lot of debate around it. But I feel very strongly based on their resume.”
BYU was the second team out of the CFP last season despite their strong metrics. The Cougars ranked eighth nationally in strength of record and No. 20 in strength of schedule.
Even with their 11-2 record, both losses coming to No. 4 Texas Tech, the Cougars were left out of the playoff and instead played in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, where they defeated Georgia Tech 25-21.
Big 12 introduces new Replay Center
Much like the ACC, the Big 12 announced that it will now allow viewers to listen in on the officiating process as it happens live during select games this coming season.
In an interview with The Athletic, Big 12 chief football and competition officer Scott Draper explained the conference’s decision to upgrade their system.
“The greater transparency into the process helps fans understand, and that’s good for the sport,” he said. “It’s good when everyone can see when we have a tight, difficult call, what that decision-making was and the angles we had.”
While the conference was able to show live video replay as it was reviewed by officials, they were unable to provide audio. However, now fans will be able to see and hear what is happening behind the scenes.
Kalani Sitake weighs in on McGuire vs. Sarkisian
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian took a shot at Texas Tech last week claiming that his “twos and threes” could go undefeated if they had Texas Tech’s schedule.
In response, Texas Tech has offered to buyout its Week 1 contract with Abilene Christian and play the Longhorns in Lubbock. Despite their big talk, the Longhorns have yet to accept the Red Raiders’ offer.
When asked about the debate by Chris Vannini of The Athletic, Sitake shared his love for both Sarkisian and Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire, and his goals for the season.
“Sark’s a good friend of mine (from BYU),” said Sitake. “Joey’s my boy. I just want to beat all of you.”
