The Big 12 Conference announced that they will keep the postseason basketball tournament in Kansas City. The original deal ran through 2020 and will now remain there for five more seasons according to their website.
We were all looking forward to having our basketball championships back together in Kansas City in 2020. While the pandemic didn’t allow that to happen, this extension provides an additional year for our institutions and fans to take part in the Big 12 basketball atmosphere that has become synonymous with Kansas City.
With the plans we had in place to celebrate the men’s and women’s basketball championships being back to together in Kansas City, the 2020 Big 12 Basketball Championships were poised to be especially exciting,“ says Kathy Nelson, President & CEO of the Kansas City Sports Commission. “The unfortunate cancellation of those events due to COVID-19 definitely left our community wanting more. We are excited and grateful that the Big 12 Conference has decided to extend our agreement to host both the Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships through 2025. – Bob Bowlsby, Big 12 Commissioner
There was some hope that the Big 12’s basketball championship tournaments would move to a more centralized location for all schools. Cities such as Oklahoma City, Oklahoma or Dallas, Texas. Unfortunately with the recent contract extension between Kansas City and the conference won’t allow that to happen until at least 2026.
The Texas Longhorns are hoping to have more competitive teams in the upcoming season. The men’s team will return with everyone from the 2019-20 team with the addition of the number one recruit in the country Greg Brown.
The women’s team will be under new leadership with the recent hire of Vic Schaefer, who came over from Mississippi State. There is a bit of excitement given the direction he had his previous program going.