As it has been stated quite frequently during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Big 12 Conference isn’t out of the woods just yet. Following the conference’s Board of Directors meeting, the Big 12 and commissioner Bob Bowlsby came to the decision to move forward. Moving forward towards the upcoming season and stating that they will play football aren’t the same.
A similar statement was made by Mack Brown on the Dan Patrick Show. They are preparing for the upcoming season but no one has said yet that the season will definitely take place. However, we know the opponents and we know the anticipated kickoff dates. The Longhorns are preparing for UTEP at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
Recently commissioner Bob Bowlsby was on the Flagship podcast on Horns247 with Chip Brown. His comment on the future of college sports for the 2020-21 academic year leaves many hoping that we do have football come Sept. 12th.
Big 12 commish Bob Bowlsby tells @ChipBrown247 if there is no football in the fall at Big 12 schools “it’s likely” there will not be any sports played for entire 2020-21 academic year “based on what I’ve heard from our campuses”
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) August 22, 2020
Unlike the Big Ten Conference and Pac-12 Conference who have talked at length about a spring football schedule, that doesn’t seem to be the same sentiment from the Big 12. It appears as if it is either we play football or we punt on any sports until 2021. The financial implications are likely the biggest reasons.
For the Longhorns their bread and butter is their football program. They generate more revenue from that sport than any university in the nation. Often times the money coming in from football helps fund all the other sports for a school.
This isn’t exactly the news that many wanted to hear. So here is hoping that football is indeed played this fall.