When the Big 12 was founded in 1994 (began play in 1996) as a combination of the old Southwest Conference and the Big 8, it became as recognizable as any conference in college football. The brands the conference featured as part of the new 12-team league were as big as it got in college football.
With Oklahoma, Nebraska, Texas, and Texas A&M leading the way for the new venture, the Big 12 had staked its claim among the best conferences in college football.
Two rounds of realignment have left it working to find a new group of teams, which will bring a new identity. The teams have changed significantly. Perhaps it’s time for the conference to change as well.
The last decade for the Big 12 has been marked with departures and a lack of leadership. It’s become a conference that isn’t viewed in the same light as the SEC or the Big 10, which hasn’t always been its legacy.
Since its first season in 1996, the Big 12 has lost half of its original members. Colorado, Nebraska, Texas A&M, and Missouri are gone. Oklahoma and Texas will be joining the Aggies and Tigers in the SEC in the coming year(s). The last decade has been a punch in the gut for the Big 12. Those losses will haunt conference leadership for years. If they let them.
Even before Oklahoma and Texas decided to leave for the SEC, realignment had caused a shift in the perception of the conference. For as much as Bob Stoops fought to maintain the reputation of the Big 12, it hasn’t been seen in the same light since the last round of realignment.
That’s part of the reason the Sooners and Longhorns are on their way to the SEC. They wanted to be a part of the biggest brand in college football, and it became clear, as much as we didn’t want to admit it, that the SEC is the biggest brand in college football.
The Big 12 will continue with the moniker when it adds UCF, BYU, Cincinnati, and Houston. Each are fantastic additions. However, the name won’t hold the same value. When people think about the Big 12, it’ll be remembered for the issues that led to half of its membership to depart for greener grass in other conferences.
Though the conference may not carry the same weight it once did, it will be a solid conference that will be incredibly competitive. The new-look Big 12 won’t have a heavy hitter like Oklahoma, but it will have many great games, making for exciting television because the teams will be more evenly matched. And still, it won’t move the needle like it has with Oklahoma and Texas leading the charge.
Tradition and history matter, but the Big 12 hasn’t been around so long that it can’t look at a rebrand. Commissioner Bob Bowlsby and the member institutions should look at this as an opportunity to move on from the past failures of the conference, both on and off the field, and forge ahead to a new future with a new identity.
There’s an opportunity here for the Big 12 to write a new chapter in the history of college football.
While it may not be the story they wanted to write, it’s time to embrace change and take it forward with a new name and a new identity. What we knew as the Big 12 is no more.
You can’t erase the past. It stays with us. However, every time the Big 12 logo pops up on a screen on Saturdays in the fall, it will be a reminder of what was. It’ll never be what it was.
With a new slate of teams expected to be added with an official vote on Friday, it’s time to embrace what the new look conference can be.
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