The 2022 Big 12 season began Wednesday when the Media Days began the first of two days at Arlington’s AT&T Stadium. The start of the festivities was incoming conference curator Brett Yormark, whose background in branding and marketing at Jay-Z’s Roc Nation helped draw a picture of his vision of the Big 12 in the future in the midst of realignment and forthcoming media rights agreements.
As for the teams featured, Baylor coach Dave Aranda and Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy were ranked among the top picks on the first day. Five different teams got their first votes in the preseason Big 12 media poll, with the Cowboys and Bears representing that group when the event opened.
With the first day of Big 12 Media Days in the book, let’s look at Arlington’s most important stories.
The Big 12 pushes the unified front
Speaking to the Big 12, many believe the league is more united than last year. After Texas and Oklahoma announced they were leaving the SEC, the Big 12 was active to quickly add four quality brands to BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF.
BYU and UCF had representatives in Arlington, while other league officials rated the quality of the league and competition very positively for the future. While the issue of expansion will be ongoing over the coming months, the 12 teams that will continue to be part of the Big 12 for the future remain committed to the future of the league.
Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy was especially sincere in saying he believes the Big 12 will expand to 16 teams at some point. Others were less confident. Regardless, everyone believes the conference is negotiating from a position of strength, especially after USC and UCLA announced their intentions to leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten.
“This is a power struggle for long-term television money,” Gundy said. “The Big 12 is better today than it was last year.”
Attractive to a new audience
Yormark made his first public appearance during his transition period to the job of Big 12 curator, replacing outgoing Bob Bowlsby, and quickly set out his vision for the conference. More than anything, Yormark focused on expanding branding and marketing opportunities for the conference to better position the league for its upcoming television negotiations.
“I think there are opportunities to be a little more national, to position our brand a little younger, more modern, fresher,” Yormark said. “As we connect to a youth culture, we diversify some of the things we’re doing. I think we have a great opportunity.”
It’s unclear what kind of value can expect to win the Big 12 in a world without Texas and Oklahoma, but people on the ground are optimistic about the advantage. Three teams in the new Big 12 – Cincinnati, Baylor and Oklahoma State – finished in the top 10 last season. Three of the new additions are in the media markets of Cincinnati, Houston and Orlando.
Yormark also addressed the potential of cross-platform revenue streams, noting that the 18- to 24-year-old population is not as married to traditional media. However, it is still unclear what kind of plans Yormark might have to enter this market.
Baylor is now the hunt
For the first time in program history, Baylor was chosen No. 1 in the preseason Big 12 poll. Bears coach Dave Aranda was his usual philosophical self when asked what this meant for the show, and he pointed out, instead, the nature of imperfection and reality.
“I think it only goes back to the task within a task,” Aranda said. “Today, for example, they will be running and lifting. So we are bringing vital energy to it, or we are running, we are lifting, we are in it, but we are not bringing any energy, we Are you really drawing energy? … “I think to be very honest about your motivation and to be clear about your intention, it’s not necessarily about perfection. You have to move imperfectly, keep moving and keep improving. I think that’s our goal.”
His players were equally thoughtful, and collegiate Dillon Doyle noted that Aranda has taught him that football is not a zero-sum game, but an opportunity for everyone to win growing through football. Only Aranda could have found a program with this kind of culture to guide; we’ll see how it turns out when they want live bullets again in the fall.
Gundy remains optimistic about the future of Pokes
Gundy was asked about his January comments, when he said he believed the state of Oklahoma could one day become a blue-blooded program after beating Notre Dame at the Fiesta Bowl. On Wednesday, Gundy reaffirmed optimism about the future of the Big 12 and how it may affect the state of Oklahoma in the long run.
“I’m convinced the Big 12 will be here for a long time,” Gundy said. “Who will participate? I’m not sure. But the brand and what we have right now going forward, the state of Oklahoma will be a very, very marketable program in the future.”
The Cowboys were six inches from potentially reaching the college football playoffs in 2021, at the same AT&T stadium where the media days are being held. Chosen third in the preseason poll, the Cowboys hope to make that elusive move in 2022.