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Big 12 eschewing division format when title game restarts in 2017
The rebirth of the Big 12’s championship game will feature a matchup of the top two teams in the conference.
The Big 12 said Friday it wouldn’t move to a division format in 2017 when the championship game comes back. The conference had left open the possibility of creating two five-team divisions and matching up the division winners in the championship game, similar to the North vs. South championship game that happened in the league from 1996-2010.
“There are a number of advantages to matching our top two teams,” Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said in a statement. “Given our round-robin, nine-game scheduling model, it is expected the Big 12 champion will be uniquely positioned for College Football Playoff consideration. I would argue there will be no path more difficult than our champion’s, where it will have played every team in the Conference, faced at least one [Power Five] non-conference opponent, and then plays in our championship game. The guaranteed No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup will be a great game for our fans, and it’s hard to imagine a stronger position for a conference champion.”
Bowlsby’s argument only has merit if the winner of the championship game is worthy of College Football Playoff consideration. If the league’s top team enters the game undefeated and loses to a second-place team with two (or more) losses, it’s doubtful that No. 2 team would be considered for the Playoff barring chaos in the other four Power Five conferences.
As Bowlsby also noted, all the Big 12 teams play each other in the regular season, so a conference championship game in the 10-team conference is a guaranteed rematch. And because of the lack of divisions, it’s also possible the rematch could come a week or two after the participants meet late in the regular season. And can you imagine the drama when the league has a three-way tie at the top in the next few seasons?
In June, the conference voted unanimously — or so it says — to reinstate the title game. The game will be an additional source of revenue for the conference, which is why it’s coming back despite the league’s round-robin schedule. Both CBS and Fox Sports have reported the leading contenders to host the title game are Dallas, Kansas City and San Antonio. We’d imagine Dallas is the heavy favorite.
The Big 12 decided earlier in October that it wouldn’t be expanding in the near future. Because of its decision not to expand, it got $10 million over eight years from ESPN in exchange for the removal of a clause in its contract that put ESPN on the hook for more money if the Big 12 moved to 12 or 14 teams.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
