Tramel's ScissorTales: Credit Brett Yormark for lifting Big 12 ahead of the Pac-12
The Big 12/Pac-12 drama continues, virtually all of it related to television contracts.
The Big 12 has a deal secured after the current contract expires in 2025. The Pac-12 does not have a contract after the current deal expires in summer 2024.
Hence the anxiety out West and the speculation that some Pac-12 members might bolt for the Big 12. Who knows if it will happen? In recent weeks, I’ve gone from rather optimistic that the Pac-12 will stay together to becoming optimistic that the Big 12 indeed could slice off a few members.
And again, we have to credit Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark for putting his conference in a more advantageous position.
There is no tangible reason for the Big 12 to have jumped ahead of the Pac-12 in securing a new contract with ESPN and Fox, other than market savvy and negotiating moxie.
“Brett's done an extraordinary job in a short amount of time,” said Houston athletic director Chris Pezman, whose school joins the Big 12 on July 1. “That TV deal, he doesn’t get enough credit. He has put us in an even more favorable position.”
Yormark appears to have known that the major networks had only so much money to spend. Fox went all in on the Big Ten, and NBC and CBS followed suit. With ESPN committed to the Southeastern and Atlantic Coast conferences, and other sports television rights coming up for bid, the money was getting tight.
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The Big 12 and Pac-12 weren’t likely to both reap a top-level commitment from the networks. Yormark, who became the Big 12 commissioner on Aug. 1, got on his horse and worked a deal with ESPN and FOX, which is not as robust as the Big Ten’s and SEC’s but pays more than the Big 12 previously was getting with OU and Texas in the conference, which they won’t be going forward.
And here’s why Yormark’s negotiations are so impressive. He was not coming from a position of strength. The data does not support the notion that more eyeballs will watch the remaining (and new) Big 12 members than the remaining Pac-12 (and potentially new) members.
I researched the last two years of college football viewership. I compared apples to apple — same time slot, same network. I did not use the departing schools of either league (OU, Texas, UCLA, Southern Cal).
There’s not a discernible difference between the conferences. Oregon appears to be the biggest draw among the Big 12 and Pac-12 combined; after that, Oklahoma State, Texas Christian and Baylor from the Big 12, and Utah and Washington from the Pac-12, are about the same. Brigham Young, which joins the Big 12 on July 1, probably will join that circle.
But the point is, the Big 12 did not have a bunch of viewership numbers to tout, at the Pac-12's expense. And still Yormark leapfrogged his league ahead of the Pac-12.
Here are the parameters of my data. I used only the last two years, since 2020 was a strange season and going back to 2019 seems a long time ago.
I used only Saturday games, since the data is limited on Thursday/Friday games. I didn’t use bowl games or conference championship games. I didn’t bother with the 11 a.m. window, since Pac-12 teams hardly ever land in such a spot, and the same with the late-night window, since the Big 12 rarely sees midnight.
I did list non-conference games, even though they can be misleading. Utah-Florida and Georgia-Oregon drew big numbers on ESPN last season. Hard to tell how much of that was Utah and Oregon or how much was the SEC. But credit Utah and Oregon for scheduling such games.
Anyway, here are the numbers, with the viewership listed in millions.
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Fox afternoon: *-TCU-Iowa State 4.34M, *-Washington State-Wisconsin 3.9M, *-Oklahoma State-Kansas State 3.4M, *-Oklahoma State-Baylor 2.4M, Colorado-Oregon 2.67M, Oklahoma State-Iowa State 2.65M, *Oregon-Brigham Young 2.6M, *Oregon-Washington State 2.27M, Iowa State-Baylor 2.0M, Baylor-TCU 1.8M.
Fox prime time: *-Washington-Oregon 3.6M, Stanford-Notre Dame 2.7M, *-Kansas State-Kansas 2.32M, Oklahoma State-Texas Tech 1.9M, Oklahoma State-TCU 1.37M.
ABC afternoon: *-Oregon-Georgia 6.2M, *-Iowa State-Iowa 3.9M, Oregon State-Oregon 3.56M, Oregon-Stanford 2.64M, *Oklahoma State-TCU 2.1M.
ESPN afternoon: Baylor-Brigham Young 1.44M, West Virginia-Maryland 1.35M, Oregon State-Oregon 1.33M, Oklahoma State-West Virginia 1.1M, *-Oregon-Colorado 0.96M.
ESPN prime time: *-Utah-Florida 2.95M, Texas Tech-Houston 0.83M, TCU-Texas Tech 0.625M.
ESPN2 afternoon: Baylor-Oklahoma State 1.0M, *-Iowa State-Kansas 0.86M, Iowa State-Texas Tech 0.67M, West Virginia-Texas Tech 0.66M, *-Oregon State-Arizona State 0.48M.
Fox Sports1 afternoon: *-Oklahoma State-Texas Tech 1.6M, *-Oregon-California 0.74M, *-Oklahoma State-Kansas 0.73M, Baylor-Kansas State 0.66M, *-Houston-Texas Tech 0.6M, *-West Virginia-Texas Tech 0.5M, Washington State-Brigham Young 0.4M, Washington State-Arizona State 0.33M.
*-denotes 2022.
There are a ton of factors. Head-to-head competition on other network. How well a team is doing. Other games scheduled at the same time.
But it’s a lot of good information, and nothing suggests that America is clamoring to watch the Big 12 over the Pac-12. Seems about a wash.
Yet the Big 12 has a television contract that it is relatively pleased with, and the clock is ticking on a Pac-12 deal. Credit Brett Yormark.
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USAO softball seeks another national title
Jadyn (Smith) Wallis pitched in 57 games for Patty Gasso’s Sooners from 2005-08.
At the time, Wallis didn’t totally understand Gasso’s impact. Wallis does now.
The 11-year softball coach at Science & Arts of Oklahoma has the Drovers back in the NAIA World Series, and USAO is seeking to replicate the national championship it won in 2018. The Drovers are in Columbus, Georgia, where they play Cumberlands (Kentucky) at 6 p.m. (Oklahoma time) Thursday in the first round of the NAIA World Series.
USAO is an Oklahoma production — only pitcher Sophie Williams hails from outside the state, and Williams is from Vernon, Texas, just across the line, southwest of Frederick.
Wallis says her blueprint at USAO in Chickasha is recruit winning players from Oklahoma, then help them grow as people. The latter is a Gasso staple.
“She always preached to us about becoming a woman,” Wallis said. “I definitely know the defintiion of that now. That’s exaclty what I try to instill in my girls as well. Being able to stand on your own two feet.
“That’s important for my student-athletes to see, that they can be a mom and still be successful in something they’re passionate about.”
Wallis certainly has been successful. The Drovers are 461-139 in Wallis’ 11 seasons. She has turned USAO into a national contender despite sharing a conference with powerhouse Oklahoma City University, which has won 11 national titles.
The Stars didn’t make the NAIA World Series — OCU was bounced by Midland (Nebraska) in the regional. But USAO is representing the Sooner Athletic Conference, having swept the regional it hosted last week.
“It’s tough, at any level, to keep success going,” Wallis said. “I recruit kids who know how to win. Lone Grove, Newcastle (her hometown), Southmoore, Washington, programs like that. Latta.
“Those kids know how to win. My job is to help ‘em be women, come in as girls, grow into women, and play together.”
Wallis is proud of these Drovers’ resilence. Returning all-American Macenzie Ruth of Sulphur suffered a broken foot, and starting third baseman Jaydn Goucher of Binger suffered a broken hand.
But the Drovers persevered. A bunch of freshmen stepped up.
“The thing I like about ’em the most, they’re fearless,” Wallis said. “They’re fearless because they don’t know any better. They don’t know any better because they’re so young.”
Among the rookies: Malea McMurtrey of Lone Grove is batting .362, Jaylee Willis of Latta is batting .316 and Taygan Graham of Binger is batting .291.
USAO’s big hitter is senior Jaclyn Gray of Chickasha, who has 11 home runs, 78 runs batted in and is hitting .418. Sophomore Sierra Selfridge of Mustang is hitting .390, and sophomore Slater Eck of Waukomis is hitting .336.
The pitchers are Williams (24-6, 1.29 earned run average) and Abi Gregory (14-3, 3.43) of Durant.
“I’m one of these people, I always have had to prove and prove and prove over and over again, that I have the capaiblity to be good enough,” Wallis said. “That has fallen into my program a little bit. We play with a little bit of a chip on the shoulder.
“That’s a big, big thing. In my program, we have a lot of Oklahoma kids. Blue-collar comes into play for sure. I’m just proud of where I’m at.”
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McCullar returning to KU
Kansas basketball’s off-season keeps getting better and better.
The latest news? Do-it-all forward Kevin McCullar Jr., one of the Big 12’s best defenders, announced he would not stay in the NBA Draft and instead would return for a final season with the Jayhawks.
“How about one more year, Jayhawk nation,” McCullar said, according to a KU release. “To be able to play in front of the best fans in the country; to play for the best coach in the nation, I truly believe we have the pieces to hang another banner in the Phog. Rock Chalk! Let’s do it!”
Not exactly what the rest of Big 12 basketball wanted to hear, but McCullar’s return will fortify Kansas basketball even more and help the conference retain its status as the nation’s best.
KU thus will have three returning starters — including point guard Dajuan Harris and center K.J. Adams — plus Michigan star center Hunter Dickinson comes aboard in the transfer portal, along with Texas sharpshooter Arterio Morris and two-year Santa Clara starting forward Parker Braun, who averaged 7.3 points a game out West.
The 6-foot-6 McCullar played three years at Texas Tech before transferring to KU. He entered the NBA Draft and went through the recent NBA Combine but was not considered a first-round pick.
“Kevin went through the pre-draft process, which is designed to do exactly what it did,” KU coach Bill Self said. “Even though he has improved his status as an NBA prospect, there is still work to be done.”
McCullar averaged 10.7 points and 7.0 rebounds a game for KU.
“This is a big day for Kansas basketball,” Self said. “We’ve had a lot of good things happen through recruiting this offseason, but nothing that has transpired this offseason was bigger for KU basketball than having a seasoned veteran like Kevin McCullar return to our program.
“Kevin is not only a terrific player, but a terrific teammate. He fit in so well in Year 1, and we’re excited about what he’ll do with our program from a leadership standpoint.”
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The List: Big 12 vs. Pac-12
With speculation rising that some Pac-12 schools could join the Big 12, let’s look at recent Big 12 vs. Pac-12 football games.
The Big 12 is 13-3 vs. the Pac-12 over the previous five seasons. Not counting games involving departing members (OU and Texas in the Big 12, Southern Cal and UCLA in the Pac-12), the Big 12 is 7-2 vs. the Pac-12.
2022: OSU beat Arizona State 34-17 in Stillwater
2022: TCU won 38-13 at Colorado
2022: Texas lost 27-20 to Washington in the Alamo Bowl
2021: Kansas State beat Stanford 24-7 in Arlington, Texas
2021: TCU beat California 34-32 in Fort Worth, Texas
2021: OU beat Oregon 47-32 in the Alamo Bowl
2020: Iowa State beat Oregon 34-17 in the Fiesta Bowl
2020: Texas beat Colorado 55-23 in the Alamo Bowl
2019: OSU won 52-36 at Oregon State
2019: OU won 48-14 at UCLA
2019: Texas Tech lost 28-14 at Arizona
2019: Texas beat Utah 38-10 in the Alamo Bowl
2018: Oklahoma beat UCLA 49-21 in Norman
2018: Iowa State lost 28-26 to Washington State in the Alamo Bowl
2018: TCU beat California 10-7 in the Cheez-It Bowl
2018: Texas beat Southern Cal 37-14 in Austin, Texas
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Mailbag: Sooner softball dominance
The dominance of the OU softball squad has some fans trying to explain what we’re seeing right before our eyes.
Shannon: As I watch Jayda Coleman struggle at the plate (it’s a joke), I try to imagine what it is like to face this team. As a pitcher, the order is relentless. Zero breaks. A good game would be what, ‘hold them to four, maybe three?’ As a hitting coach, May/Bahl/Storako/(Deal) plus the best defense in the country, you go in trying to ‘scratch out two, maybe 3?’ So, the best case scenario is a 2-4 loss, 3-4 loss or maybe, just maybe, a 3-3 tie. Daunting.”
Tramel: Shannon is hitting it close. The best-case scenario appears to be 3-4. That’s the score by which Baylor upset OU way back on Feb. 19, the last time the Sooners lost. Jordy Bahl gave up four runs, all earned, in the third inning. The Sooners cut Baylor’s lead to 4-3 in the sixth, but Tiare Jennings and Grace Lyons each grounded out with runners on second and third.
So OU is not unbeatable. But Shannon is right. It’s a daunting task.
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: Conference realignment: Commissioner Brett Yormark lifts Big 12 status
