With divisions likely, Big 12 seeking solutions for alignment
When he wasn’t being barraged with questions about Baylor, Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby found the time to address a few other issues on the table for the conference.
As it currently stands, the Big 12 has 10 members and the question of expansion, or as Bowlsby calls it, “conference composition,” has been lingering for months. The commissioner said the subject will be discussed during a Tuesday board meeting.
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As expected, he was vague about the possibility of a solution.
“I think we’ve gone through an extensive period of research with our board, a lot of data analysis over the last 18 months on conference composition. Those discussions are ongoing, and as you know we have a board meeting (Tuesday) and conference composition and some of the decisions that we have before us will be on that agenda,” Bowlsby said.
“All I can say is that in my four years plus in the conference, I don’t know that we’ve ever had a meeting of the board that was more frank and forthright and transparent than the last one we had, the one that was in early June. I think that sentiment and tenor will continue tomorrow. Our CEOs are working very well together and I really expect that this will be a positive process for us.”
Bowlsby previously told reporters that a vote could come by the end of the summer.
One decision the Big 12 already made was bringing back a championship game in 2017. What has yet to be decided is how the league’s two finalists will be determined. Bowlsby thinks two five-team divisions is a likely outcome with each division’s winner playing in the title game.
“My role is always advisory because I don’t have a vote on it. Among the things that I expect will happen, as I think we will probably end up playing divisions, I think our two champions of those divisions will end up likely playing each other in the championship game. I think we will definitely play the game at a neutral site. I don’t see us playing on campus,” Bowlsby said.
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How those divisions will be aligned is another issue to tackle. Bowlsby made it clear there’s a lot for the conference to consider.
“We’ve talked about a number of different ways. We’ve talked about an equity base that would on a rotational basis be responsive to how teams are finishing in the overall standings. There has been some talk about staying with one division and going that route. I sense less enthusiasm for that,” Bowlsby said.
Iowa State president Steven Leath previously mentioned the rotational divisions idea publicly. In that scenario, the teams that placed first, third, fifth, seventh and ninth the previous year could be placed in one division with the second, fourth, sixth, eighth and tenth-place finishers in the other. A round-robin schedule would likely remain if the league stays at 10 members. Expansion would present another challenge for scheduling.
Schools, Bowlsby said, could possibly be arranged geographically, too.
“I think we could do a geographic designation of some sort. That gets a little bit difficult going east/west or north/south, and oftentimes those don’t make sense,” Bowlsby said. “We have to overlay traditional rivals, how you do that and how you separate them. One of the things we would like to do is avoid late-season rematches if we can. So as you look at divisions, you want to try and be thoughtful about the rivalry games. “
If the league had a title game last year, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State would have squared off in back-to-back weeks – in the regular season finale and the championship game.
The Big 12 hopes to avoid that, Bowlsby said.
“In the Pac-12 I know that Stanford and UCLA played each other on consecutive weeks a few years ago. It’s not ideal. There’s a lot of moving parts. You’ve got to build in byes and you don’t want people that are playing on Saturday having to play on Thursday when one of them had a bye the week before. We’ve got a lot of work to do on scheduling and the divisional structure is going to be a big part of that.”
On we go…
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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
