Big 12 Media Days 2022: What to expect from Texas, Oklahoma and debut of new conference commissioner

The most wonderful time of the year is set to kick off as the Big 12 begins our run of annual media day events on Wednesday and Thursday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. 

Baylor will return to the site of its first ever Big 12 championship game win in 2021 with expectations of defending the crown thanks to returning rising star coach Dave Aranda. However, many eyes will be on Texas and Oklahoma as both try to bounce back from disappointing years in 2021. 

There’s still more than a month until the college football regular season starts, but below are some of the top storylines to watch for during Big 12 Media Days. 

Realignment chatter

One year ago, then-Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby quipped that he won five dollars because no one asked a realignment question at media days. Unfortunately, his joke goes down as an all-time gaffe as Texas and Oklahoma were members of the SEC by the end of the month, setting off one of the most chaotic realignment sagas in college football history. 

Now, the Big 12 is relatively stable and has a chance to be a buyer in the next round of realignment set off by USC and UCLA joining the Big Ten. Administrators around the Big 12 will be on hand, so don’t be surprised to see rumors fly or news drop, even if decisions by Pac-12 schools could still be months away. 

Four new programs will be attending Big 12 Media Days in 2023 (Cincinnati, BYU, Houston and UCF), so plenty of talk should be centered around the impending new era. 

Baylor atop the polls

The Baylor Bears are picked to win the Big 12 for the first time in program history. Even though the Bears have won the league three times — including consecutive seasons in 2013 and 2014 — the Bears have traditionally fought from the bottom half of the bracket to reach the top.

While the Bears are the favorite, their advantage is by no means overwhelming. Baylor received 17 of the 41 votes submitted in the annual media poll. Oklahoma was close behind with 12 first-place votes with Oklahoma State at nine votes. Texas and Iowa State also both received first-place votes in the poll despite a combined 12-13 record in 2021. 

This is on pace to be one of the most parity-driven seasons in Big 12 history. It will be interesting to see whether the attendees recognize the opportunity to wrest away the Big 12 crown. 

Welcome to the party, Brett Yormark

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