Big 12 Football may not have North Vs South

[Phil C]

for their championship game. They may have the top two teams with the best records meet for the championship instead of a northern division and southern division. One reason they are thinking about is it is that in 2004 Colorado with a 4 - 4 record got to play against OK for the championship. If they had this new prospective rule UT would have got to play OK again. It may be better but there could be times when a team played a softer schedule might get in.

[rhs78]

PHIL ,WHAT DO YOU THINK THE ODDS ARE THAT THIS WILL HAPPEN?? IF IT DOES THEN THERE WILL BE NO NORTH OR SOUTH DIVISIONS??? THIS WOULD MAKE THE SOUTH DIVISION HAPPY.

[Rockdale Tiger]

That would be a good idea...

[KTJ]

Do you have a link for this? Or is this just something you are venting about?

[KTJ]

Nevermind Phil. I found one.

The Link

[jason]

Originally posted by KTJ
Nevermind Phil. I found one.

The Link

the link doesnt work unless you're a registered user...could you post the article...thanks

[KTJ]

Why are you always so difficult?



Stoops, Brown favor Big 12 unity

Web Posted: 04/19/2005 12:00 AM CDT

Tim Griffin
San Antonio Express-News

Several Big 12 football coaches have proposed scrapping the conference's north/south divisional configuration in favor of a unified 12-team structure.

The strongest proponents of the move are Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops and Texas coach Mack Brown, who both spoke of the plan's advantages on a Big 12 teleconference Monday.

The discussion, expected to continue at the Big 12's annual spring meetings next month in Colorado Springs, comes when the two divisions' competitive imbalance appears to be greater than at any time in the conference's history.

Five of the six South Division teams qualified for bowl games, compared with two from the North. South Division teams had a 15-3 edge in interdivisional games last season — with Baylor accounting for all three losses.

South teams hold a 38-16 edge in interdivision division games the past three years. Before that, South Division teams never had a seasonal edge in any of the previous six seasons against the North.

Stoops said the new structure would benefit schools in both divisions, as well as put the conference on a similar competitive balance with the Pacific 10 and Big Ten — two other conferences that do not have divisional structures.

"I think these things need to be talked about," Stoops said. "It might improve the (Big 12's) general welfare, where there isn't a 'North' or a 'South,' but everybody is together. I see a lot of good in it, I would think."

Stoops said he expects the idea would be palatable to all conference teams, despite recent dominance by the South teams.

"There's advantages," he said. "There's quite a bit of recruiting done down south. Now, it would give everybody more of a presence there."

Stoops, a critic of the Big 12's championship game, proposed a format in which the conference regular-season champion would host the championship game against the team with the second-best conference record.

That would be significant for OU and UT, who would have qualified for the championship game in each of the past two seasons if those rules were in place.

"I'd love to see a situation where the two best teams play at the end," said Brown, whose team has notched no worse than a tie for the second-best conference record in each of the past five seasons. "Some years the South hasn't been as strong and others when the North wasn't as strong. Then, our championship game doesn't have as much luster as if we just played the two best teams."

Football is the only Big 12 sport with the north/south divisional structure in place.

If the plan went through, it could mean the end of traditional rivalries between some conference schools that have been played for many years.

Iowa State's Dan McCarney, one of only two coaches to have been with the conference since its inception, favors much study before any divisional moves are made.

"I would be willing to think about it," McCarney said. "But I'd have to hear some really good reasons why, because I'm a creature of habit. This is what we've done, and this is what we've known."

Nebraska coach Bill Callahan favors keeping the current divisional structure.

"I'm real pleased with the format the way it is," Callahan said. "Some teams are stronger in some years, and some years some conferences and divisions are weaker. I think it's cyclical, and it all balances out in the end."

The coaches would make any recommendation for divisional switches to the conference's chief executive officers for final approval.

[sahen]

actually i dont like this....think about it....all it takes is for nebraska and kansas st. to have decent teams and they clobber the north and both only loose 1 or 2 games in conference....what happens then to the south division teams who are much stronger and could possibly have 2 teams tied w/ 2 losses or such....it seems to me this actually helps the north....

[big daddy russ]

Originally posted by sahen
actually i dont like this....think about it....all it takes is for nebraska and kansas st. to have decent teams and they clobber the north and both only loose 1 or 2 games in conference....what happens then to the south division teams who are much stronger and could possibly have 2 teams tied w/ 2 losses or such....it seems to me this actually helps the north....

They'd probably have a more even mix of North and South teams on their schedules if that happened. Some teams might wind up having easier schedules, but in a conference as tough as the Big XII it would be hard to get any kind of huge leg up on the other teams. Hell, even past doormats like Baylor, Iowa State and Kansas are coming into their own.

[AggieJohn]

Originally posted by KTJ
Five of the six South Division teams qualified for bowl games, compared with two from the North. South Division teams had a 15-3 edge in interdivisional games last season — with Baylor accounting for all three losses.

sorry sahen i chuckled at this one

[vet93]

Kind of hard to chuckle at Sahen when the Aggies lost to Baylor...don't you think?

Originally posted by AggieJohn
sorry sahen i chuckled at this one

[AggieJohn]

now let's not rehash old memories...shhhh!

[sahen]

wow....i didnt even have to say it....

[rhino33]

all i have to say is i hope my huskers do better with the new talents they have

[AggieJohn]

and baylor good luck