Whitley's Believe It Or Not: Ay Caramaba! Big 12 can't beat SEC, but it might conquer Mexico
Estas listo para algo de futbol?
The Big 12 Conference hopes so.
In case you don’t habla español, the question is “Are you ready for some football?” News broke last week that Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark is exploring playing football and basketball games in Mexico.
It’s his latest idea to popularize the conference and keep it relevant in a world dominated by the SEC and Big Ten. On that, Yormark’s done a bang-up job since being hired last year.
Unlike the Pac 12, the Big 12 is no longer on life support thanks to Yormark’s innovative thinking. But going out of the country might be too far out of the box, especially with football.
Schools and business communities are never keen on giving up home games, even if it’s only one every few years. And would Baylor vs. Cincinnati excite college football fans in Monterrey?
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Does Monterrey have any college football fans?
If Yormark really wants to rouse the locals, have Big 12 teams take on Mexican universities in sports they can relate to. Soccer or baseball or bullfighting come to mind. Those wouldn’t excite ESPN or Fox, though the thought of Bevo charging a matador has certain appeal.
Of course, Texas is taking Bevo to the SEC next year, with Oklahoma in tow. That focuses on the Big 12’s biggest branding problem.
Do you know how many national championships Big 12 teams not named Texas or Oklahoma have won since World War II?
One.
BYU in 1984. (Sorry, UCF. We don’t count your self-proclaimed title in 2017).
With all due respect to Yormark’s avant-garde thinking, the best way for the Big 12 to improve its brand would be to win a national championship more frequently than Halley’s Comet orbits the Earth. …
Stud of the Week: Mage, for winning the Kentucky Derby in only his fourth career race. Even better, the Venezuelan-owned thoroughbred announced he will not transfer to Claiborne Farm despite its seven-figure NIL offer.
Dud of the Week: Churchill Downs. Mage aside, it’s hard to cheer after seven horses died at the track in the week leading up to the Derby. The only clue investigators have so far is that all the victims once shared a stall with Jeffrey Epstein. …
Dud II: LA Chargers coach Brandon Staley. After his team drafted three TCU players, Staley said Big 12 programs are “the same as” SEC schools. True, if TCU had been spotted 58 points in the national championship game, it would have had the same point total as Georgia. …
Dud III: Alabama baseball coach Brian Bohannan, who was fired in connection to a gambling probe. Crimson Tide athletic director Greg Byrne has named Pete Rose the interim coach. …
Don't put much faith in these predictions
ESPN Analytics predicts Florida will win eight games this football season. But remember, it also said there was a 0.1% chance Kentucky quarterback Will Levis would not be picked in the first round.
DraftKings has placed UF’s over/under win total at 5.5 games. The Gators have never won 5.5 games in a season, and I predict this fall will not be the first. …
If UCF beat Texas Tech in the Big 12’s annual South of the Border Game, would it declare itself national champion of Mexico? ...
Spain’s Parliament banned “comic” bullfighting events featuring dwarves last week. Dwarf performers threatened to circumvent the new law by identifying as either a giraffe or Wilt Chamberlain. …
For what it’s worth, Tuesday is the birthday of two of the greatest hit machines in modern U.S. history – Billy Joel and the late, great Tony Gwynn. …
If Bullfighting became an NCAA sport, would schools have to use 50% cows in order to comply with Title IX regulations? ...
The Milwaukee Bucks fired Mike Budenholzer last week, meaning the coaches who won NBA titles in 2019, 2020 and 2021 have now been canned. Golden State’s Steve Kerr, the winning coach in 2022, is probably safe unless he bets on Alabama’s baseball team. …
The Knights and their national championships
If UCF beat Texas Tech in the Big 12’s annual South of the Border Game, would it declare itself national champion of Mexico? ...
Memo to potential Big 12 bullfighting teams: The sport is illegal in Mexico City and a handful of other Mexican states. Penalties are doubled if the bull is dressed up like a dwarf. …
This Just In: The California Reparations Task Force recommended the state offer payments up to $1.2 million to every resident who bought Oakland A’s season tickets this year. …
Clarification: Halley’s Comet orbit takes 75 to 79 years to complete, depending on traffic. So if a Big 12 football team wins the national championship before 2058, the conference will actually win one more frequently than Halley’s Comet passes Earth. My money’s still on the comet. …
That’s about all the space we have for this week’s Whitley’s Believe It or Not. Until next time, if you know any hotshot high school matadors, please tell them to contact their nearest Big 12 school.
David Whitley is The Gainesville Sun's sports columnist. Contact him at dwhitley@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidEWhitley
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Big 12 hopes Mexican football, basketball forays will help it compete in USA
