Beginning on Wednesday one of the first stops on the highway to the start of the college football season begins... It's Big 12 Media Days and there is a ton of different storylines to debate and discuss.
As always we have you covered both Wednesady and Thursday on The Plank Show from 9a-12p on The Ref.
All 10 teams are scheduled to be represented in Arlington on Wednesday and Thursday.
Baylor will be the first team out of the blocks with head coach Dave Aranda’s press conference at 10:35 a.m. CT. Kansas, West Virginia, Kansas State and Oklahoma State are also slated to speak on Day 1 of Big 12 Media Days. On Thursday, Brent Venables will kick things off at 10:35 with his press conference. Texas Tech, Iowa State, TCU and Texas are scheduled to follow as the day progresses. We will touch more on Coach Venables and the Sooners tomorrow night but let's focus on the big storylines for Day 1.
WHO IS THIS GUY?
At 8:30am Wednesday morning new Big 12 Commissioner Bret Yormark will give his first public remarks since taking over as the commissioner of the league. With zero college experience the Yormark hire is an interesting one, but in line with what the Pac 12 did when it replaced Larry Scott. Is the Big 12 actively pursuing expansion? With the exits of USC and UCLA to the Big 10 could the Big 12 become a predatory conference for a change and increase from 12 (after OU and Texas leave for the SEC) to 14 or 16? While we will unlikely get a solid answer to that question we will at least be able to read in to just about everything the new commish has to say.
Also, what is his view of the media rights landscape? Is Fox going to continue to be a part of the picture going forward and how active of a role could a streaming platform play in the future of the league.
ARE THEY TRULY THE BEST
Baylor is the preseason choice to win the Big 12 for the first time in program history. Coming off the Big 12 Championship last year and a win in the Sugar Bowl, the Bears lost a ton of talent but still return 7 starters on offense and 7 on defense. Could the Bears be here to stay?
SPENCER SANDERS FINAL RIDE
The roller coaster career of Spencer Sanders reached a peak last season with OSU reaching it's first ever Big 12 Championship game. The Cowboys lost 6 starters on defense and are looking to replace some experienced talent including all-world linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez. Has the recruiting set a foundation where OSU has entered a position where there is no longer a rebuilding stretch but a reload, and has Sanders found the consistency to avoid costly turnovers that have plagued him during his career.
We've got you covered starting at 9a Wednesday morning on the Ref. For a full schedule of Big 12 Media Day festivities chieck out this link:
https://big12sports.com/