Why Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy is 'thrilled' about Colorado's Big 12 return

STILLWATER ― Mike Gundy is never not entertaining on the topic of conference realignment.

He always has something to say.

Wednesday morning after Oklahoma State's first football practice of fall camp, the Cowboy coach did not disappoint when he was asked what he thought about last week’s news that Colorado would be returning to the Big 12.

“I mean,” he said, “I’m almost like Nostradamus.”

You could almost see his chest puff up.

“I’ve been telling you guys for 18 months what’s going to happen,” he said. “I think I’ve hit it every time.

“Two things. I said Oklahoma State would be in great shape no matter what, which has happened, and I said eventually, the Big 12 Conference will rise and be just fine, which has happened.”

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Then, for good measure, he added a third thing.

“And I said that conference realignment is not finished yet. And it’s not finished now. It’s still gonna go on.”

That sure seems likely. The Pac-12 met with its schools Tuesday to tell them, in essence, the league doesn’t have a workable broadcast deal moving forward. Streaming largely on Apple? Guaranteeing only $19 million per school? Pac-12 members can’t remain competitive with those parameters.

So, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah are trying to figure out what to do.

Ditto for Oregon and Washington.

(Ever wonder if Oregon State and Washington State, Stanford and Cal ever feel a wee bit left out?)

Since Gundy was feeling pretty good about his powers of prediction, I figured I’d test his skills.

OK, Nostradamus, who else is coming to the Big 12?

“You know what I should do?” Gundy said. “I should write it down and stick it on the wall.”

I reminded him as he stood inside OSU’s indoor practice facility that he was surrounded by cameras and reporters who could document his prediction, rendering no need for pen or paper or even a wall.

Gundy didn’t take the opportunity.

Oh, well.

But he did have lots of nice things to say about Colorado.

“We’re thrilled to have Colorado,” he said. “They fit in with the Big 12. They go all the way back. Were they Big Six?”

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Colorado actually joined the Big Six in 1947 and made it the Big Seven, which eventually became the Big Eight, then the Big 12 where Colorado remained until leaving for the Pac-12 in 2010.

(What a novel concept: the number of teams reflected in the name of the league.)

Gundy has faced the Buffs on several occasions. He went against them four times when he was quarterback of the Cowboys, winning 42-17 in 1987 and 41-21 in 1988 but losing by similarly lopsided scores in 1986 (31-14) and 1989 (41-17).

Then, Gundy has four games against Colorado as the OSU head coach.

2005: 34-0 loss.

2008: 30-17 win.

2009: 31-28 win, a Thursday night game in Stillwater remembered by Cowboy fans as the first time Brandon Weeden played meaningful snaps and led a huge second-half comeback.

2016: 38-8 win when an Alamo Bowl expected to competitive turned into a rout; the Buffs were ranked 11th, the Cowboys 13th.

“I remember going up there and they would have snow pushed to the side of the field when we do our Friday walkthroughs,” Gundy said of games at Boulder’s Folsom Field, nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. “It’s a good setting. It’s a good setting for college football.”

It is a beautiful scene. Definitely not the only college football stadium set in the mountains, but still very cool.

Cool is also a word Gundy used to describe Ralphie, the live buffalo that traditionally leads the team onto the field.

“I used to watch him run out before games,” Gundy said of Ralphie. “I wanted to make sure I wasn’t in his way because the guys that were holding on, they weren’t actually leading him. They were holding on. They couldn’t do anything if he went the wrong direction, honestly.”

It’s interesting, the wistful way Gundy talks of Colorado and how many others in the college football world talks about it. Frankly, lots of folks don’t think of the Buffs, much less talk about them seeing as how they’ve had only two winning seasons in the past 17 years.

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Gundy isn’t unaware of the program’s struggles.

“But I think that the addition of Coach there,” Gundy said of Deion Sanders, “has generated a lot of excitement. I think that is an advantage for this league from a marketability (standpoint) across the country.

“That’s what this comes down to, right? We’re trying to market so you can get sales so you can get ESPN and Fox to pay you money to play on TV.”

No doubt Colorado’s brand has improved since Sanders was hired last December. The Buffs haven’t done a thing yet on the football field, but they have buzz and excitement and anticipation that hasn’t been there for nearly two decades.

Sure, more Colorado fans are going to attend games in Boulder ― at last check, Colorado had sold out its season tickets as well as two home games ― but more college football fans are going to tune in to watch the Buffs, too. In recent years, the only people who watched the Buffs on TV were diehard Colorado fans and fans of whoever it was playing.

Now?

You’d better believe folks will tune in for Colorado’s opener at TCU. Same for its Week 2 game against Nebraska.

It’s the Prime Effect, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing for the Big 12.

“With what’s going on now with the alignment as it finishes up here over the next month, maybe a week, I think that they’re bringing some strength back,” Gundy said.

Wait, did Nostradamus drop another prophecy that Big 12 expansion will wrap up this week?

Never not entertaining.

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 football's Mike Gundy reacts to Colorado move to Big 12