For Oklahoma State and Big 12, conference realignment 'feels a lot better on this side'

Chad Weiberg admits he had no way of knowing in July 2021 what the future of the Big 12 would look like. He likely wouldn’t have thought then, in the aftermath of OU and Texas announcing their departure for the SEC, that the Big 12 would be pilfering another Power Five league only two years later.

But here’s what the Oklahoma State athletic director did know back then: he and other leaders in Stillwater believed in what would remain in the Big 12.

The schools. The programs. The brands. The people.

“We knew what we have here in the Big 12,” Weiberg told The Oklahoman on Thursday. “Yes, obviously, it took a hit when OU and Texas left, but we still felt very good about the institutions that we have, the brands that we have here.

“We know we’ve got a bunch of schools still that have great fan bases that care about college athletics and are going to be here when the teams kick off and play or tip off and play. We knew that there was still great value here.”

That belief has been rewarded.

Wednesday night, the Big 12’s presidents and chancellors voted unanimously to bring Colorado back into the conference, and Thursday afternoon, Colorado’s board of regents unanimously formalized the Buffs’ move from the Pac-12.

Colorado will re-join the Big 12 next year.

“I am old enough at this point to remember them from the first time around,” Weiberg said with a laugh.

More: Tramel's ScissorTales: Answering questions about Colorado's move to the Big 12

He remembers, too, being disappointed when the Buffs left the Big 12 in 2011 after being one of the league’s original members and a Big Eight member dating back to 1947.

“They made those decisions for reasons that made sense to them at the time,” Weiberg said of Colorado’s decision to move to the Pac-12, “just like I think they’re making the decisions now for what makes sense to them now.

“Things have changed, and what made sense then maybe doesn’t for lots of reasons make as much sense now.”

Twelve years in college athletics seems like a million years.

Frankly, two years feels like a long time ago, too.

But Weiberg is quick to recall those days.

“It was July 21,” he said.

Yes, Weiberg knows the exact date in 2021 when news broke that OU and Texas intended to go to the SEC. His world was turned upside down, and after only three weeks as OSU’s athletic director, he found himself navigating some raging waters of uncertainty.

What would happen to the Big 12?

What should OSU do?

Should the Cowboys stay put?

Should they grab hold of the first life preserver thrown their way?

More: Two years after being left for dead, the Big 12 surges back, plundering Colorado from Pac-12

“Part of leadership is dealing with the circumstances that are presented to you,” Weiberg said, “and we had a lot of really good leadership, I think, at the time: ‘OK, this is where we are at. What is the best path forward?’”

Part of the path for Weiberg, OSU president Kayse Shrum and all the other leaders in the Big 12 quickly became the addition of four new schools. Less than two months after OU and Texas announced their departure, the Big 12 announced it had voted to add BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF.

“That certainly was a stabilizing factor for the conference,” Weiberg said. “And then I think the board made a great decision in hiring and choosing Brett Yormark as the next commissioner.”

That happened in June 2022, and a month or so later, he made his first appearance as Big 12 commissioner and declared the league “open for business.”

That set a tone, a positive vibe that carried over to the talks renegotiating the Big 12’s broadcast deal. The league not only got big dollars for its remaining and incoming members but also negotiated a pro-rata clause that would pay any future Power Five additions the same.

“The fact that you would, at the time, even ask for that given where we were but also to have your partners agree to it I think indicated how they felt about the future potential of the league,” Weiberg said. “I think all of that was very positive for us to hear at the time.”

All of it mirrored what Weiberg has always tried to do at OSU: prepare for future opportunities.

Amid the turmoil of two summers ago, Cowboy faithful often had the same question for Weiberg.

“What can we do?” they often asked. “What can we do to best position OSU right now?”

“Really,” he would reply, “there is not much that we can do right now.”

Not exactly reassuring.

More: Colorado's move to the Big 12 jeopardizes the Pac-12's very survival

“What was important at that moment in time,” Weiberg explained, “was the work that we’ve done over the last 15 or 20 years to put us in position at that time.”

“That is still true. … We’ve got to look out five, 10, 15 years from now and be thinking, ‘What can we be doing now to best position Oklahoma State athletics and the Big 12 that we’re a part of for what’s coming in the future?’”

Of course, Weiberg is no more capable now of knowing what’s coming than he was two years ago. But he plans to keep doing what he believes is most important for OSU ― control the things that can be controlled. Invest in athletes. Retain good coaches. Upgrade facilities. Innovate where possible.

“And if we keep doing that really, really well and stay diligent about that,” he said, “I’m confident that we are going to be positioned as best we can be and where we want to be when those times and opportunities present themselves.”

He believes the same is true of the Big 12. It happened Thursday; Colorado was interested in leaving the Pac-12, and the Big 12 offered a favorable destination. If it happens again ― and who among us believes conference realignment is actually over? ― the Big 12 looks like it will be ready.

Weiberg and OSU navigated the waters of realignment two years ago even as the Big 12 was springing leaks, but this time around, he sure prefers the seaworthiness of the vessel that the Cowboys are riding.

“All I know is,” he said, “it feels a lot better on this side of it than the other side.”

Jenni Carlson: Jenni can be reached at 405-475-4125 or jcarlson@oklahoman.com. Like her at facebook.com/JenniCarlsonOK, follow her at twitter.com/jennicarlson_ok or on Threads at jennicarlson_ok, and support her work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State AD praises Big 12 Conference prep for Colorado chance