Tramel: BYU leads the celebrations as Big 12 Conference enters new era

Alema Harrington, Jarom Jordan and Spencer Linton, wearing different-colored polo shirts, turned sideways to display the commonality of their wardrobe.

The matching “XII” on their sleeves.

Big 12 pride – maybe Big 12 jubilation is a better word – was on full display Friday night in Provo, Utah, as Brigham Young University counted down to conference membership.

As midnight turned Friday into Saturday and June into July, the Big 12 added four new members: Cincinnati, BYU, Houston and Central Florida.

And no school commemorated the event like BYU. The Cougars produced a live countdown on their practice field, with guests on stage and thousands of fans (mostly students, it appeared) assembled.

“I’m feeling real good, seeing all Cougar Nation out here right now,” BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe told the crowd.

Each of the Big 12 newcomers has a unique story, of how its conference odyssey led to the Big 12. Each feels a different combination of satisfaction, relief, revelry and gratitude that it has reached Power Five Conference level, with the financial status and prestige it provides.

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But no school celebrated like BYU, which won a national championship in football 39 years ago, has a 63,470-seat stadium that routinely rocks, sports a well-rounded athletic program and has an international brand, courtesy of being the citadel of education for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Mormons might not like to drink, but they do like to party.

Jordan and Linton, hosts of BYU’s daily Sports Nation shows, and Harrington, a former BYU football player turned Utah Jazz broadcaster, hosted the live countdown Friday night. And just to remind the Big 12 what it’s getting with BYU, the screen next to the stage flashed to a quick live video from Times Square, showing a BYU/Big 12 countdown clock erected at 1525 Broadway in New York.

“We’ve been getting ready for this night for a few weeks now,” Harrington said.

Jordan corrected him: “A few years! A few years!”

Moments later, athletic director Tom Holmoe appeared on stage and expanded even that time frame.

“Here’s what I feel,” Holmoe told the crowd. “This is not something that just happened in the last 10 or 15 years. This is something goes back 40- or 50-plus years with all of Cougar Nation, all of our players, the coaches, the teams, the all-Americans, the captains. They built a brand.

“You kids (BYU students) weren’t even around, but you are now, so it’s time to carry on.”

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The BYU celebration continued Saturday, with a three-hour carnival amid the Cougar athletic facilities, with activities like a Pro Day challenge, ziplining, player card creation, hat customization, rock-wall climbing, a golf simulator, water games, face painters, caricature artists and a performance by the fire knife dancers, a BYU tradition that figures to become a big hit with Big 12 fans.

The Big 12 is a monumental event to all the newcomers. But BYU showed it the most.

“Like ancient Israel and the (LDS) pioneers, we waited and waited and found the right place,” said Jordan. “This is the place!”

The BYU celebration Friday night included a story about the Cougars’ athletic history, written in verse and read by radio voice Greg Wrubell.

“We are in the Big 12, now come great expectations, and tonight is a night, for great jubilation,” Wrubell read.

Poetry was a theme elsewhere, too. UCF plans its Big 12 celebration for August, but the Knights sent out a digital clip of radio voice Marc Daniels reading “The Night Before the Big 12.”

“Twas the night before the Big 12, and all across Knight Nation, the countdown to this moment, now becomes a celebration...

“The moment has arrived, a new era is upon. Join together as we shout, go Knights, charge on!”

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Hokey? Sure. But give the poets a little latitude. College football is a caste system, and invading the inner the circle is a big dang deal.

In Cincinnati, the Bearcats hosted a Big 12 Bash from noon to midnight Friday at Rhinegeist Brewery.

Houston produced a livestream video that counted down the last 15 minutes before midnight. It included a taped message from basketball coach Kelvin Sampson.

“You know who I’m excited for?” Sampson said of Houston fans. “I’m excited for you. We’ve kind of been wandering a little bit. Our alumni, our supporters, the people who love this university, now we have this opportunity to be among the best, in every sport.”

Then Sampson issued a challenge.

“Your support has to improve,” Sampson said. “We have to improve. This is really a team thing. Everybody’s got to raise their game. Is it exciting? Absolutely. But it’s also challenging.”

The Big 12 transition will be challenging for every newcomer. Moving into the Power Five was challenging for Utah and Texas Christian. Why wouldn’t it be for Cincinnati and Central Florida?

But the countdown to midnight was not a time for challenges. Not a time for warning. It was a time of celebration. Friday night into Saturday, June into July, American Conference/independent into the Big 12.

When the clock struck midnight in Provo – 2 a.m. back on Broadway – the famous, massive “Y” on Y Mountain lit up. Its lights are reserved for special occasions, like freshman orientation, homecoming and graduation.

And entry into the Big 12, when the countdown was reversed, and BYU starts counting up.

Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Big 12 expansion: BYU throws a party as it enters the conference