A quiet war is brewing between Utah and Duke over who gets into the Big Ten.
Both want in badly.
Both can afford the buyout.
The data says it's a dead heat.
A few months before he passed away in 2003, a 74 year old children’s television host sat down in the same studio where he had filmed 895 episodes over 33 years and recorded one last message. It wasn’t for children. It was for the adults who had grown up watching him.
Fred Rogers hosted Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood on American public television from 1968 to 2001. For over three decades he walked into the same set, changed into a cardigan and sneakers, looked directly into the camera, and spoke to children as if each one of them was the only person in the room. He never raised his voice, never talked down to his audience, and never rushed a single moment.
In that final recording, he looked into the camera one last time and said “I’m just so proud of all of you who have grown up with us. And I know how tough it is some days to look with hope and confidence on the months and years ahead. But I would like to tell you what I often told you when you were much younger. I like you just the way you are.”
He passed away from stomach cancer on February 27, 2003. He was 74.
We traded Oregon/U$C for Kansas/Provo, and Arkansas is the only real marquee game. 🐗
Maybe the easiest schedule in Utah Football history. 🧁
Most projections have the Utes Top-2 in the BIG XII.
It’s CFP or bust. ‼️
Let’s agree right now: we will not celebrate #6 or worse. ❌
Can we have an honest conversation about why Texas Tech basketball crowds are so lethargic now, even in the biggest moments when things go well, and why attendance at athletic events seems so meh on campus even in the midst of the department having so much success? It's a problem
High level of confidence that Texas Tech is going to lose the Big 12 football title game in 2026.
Red Raiders defense in 2025 was historically great. Bailey. Rodriguez. Hunter. Gone.
College Sports are broken, and those who first made the mess and profit handsomely from the status quo do not want to fix it. Without meaningful change, opportunities for thousands and thousands of talented student athletes will disappear and women’s and Olympics sports programs will be canceled. A disjointed and disorganized revenue generation system is the root cause, and everybody in college sports knows it - including many members of the Big 10 and SEC, who have recently reported staggering and unsustainable athletic deficits and debts. Ironically, at least one of these two commissioners, who argue that the status quo is “just fine”, have simultaneously pursued onerous private equity and debt deals to paper over the overwhelming deficits many of their member institutions face. The situation is even more dire in the lower-revenue conferences, as is well known.
Our primary objective is to provide athletic programs, both big and small, the tools they need to achieve financial sustainability and preserve all of their programs, scholarships, and roster spots. We want to grow the financial pie, and make it work for everybody - doing so in a way that doesn’t not punish or take revenue away from the “big boys”. Not only is this the right thing to do, it is also consistent with the President’s “Saving College Sports” Executive Order, that was issued last summer.
The posture of these two commissioners indicates that they do not care about the fate of the other conferences or smaller schools, nor do they care about the life-changing opportunity provided to women and to athletes in our Olympic sports. It seems they have chosen to disregard the directives of the President and the will of the American people.
Change is difficult, I get that, especially when it means dismantling a long-held, broken, backwards system. My sincere hope is that, instead of throwing up roadblocks to our congressional momentum, we can work together on solutions that put the student athletes first and preserves the viability of the great American institution of college sports.
@CFB_Signals I did not create it but my point still stands. We will be able to continue to fund our programs and stay relevant. The Big 12 has been competitive and in the conversation this year. We have our place.
@Techtonicus1 Your graphic has incorrect info. Plus institutional support isn’t earned income. 38% of TTU’s 2024 revenue came from direct institutional support & donations. Inst support will be critical for ACC & B12 programs to keep pace.
@Big12BurnerKU A lot of people didn’t think that the Big 12 would land the four corners PAC12 schools either but it happened. If the BIG and SEC take some ACC schools, I can assure you that we will too.
@CFB_Signals Dude. I would think that athletic revenues well in excess of 150 million should be able to keep the lights on. I know this is 2023 but the big 12 should be able compete.