Big 12 to add football championship game in 2017

IRVING, Texas — Big 12 Conference commissioner Bob Bowlsby said Friday the league’s board of directors voted unanimously to begin holding a football championship game in 2017.

The league, one of two FBS leagues along with the Sun Belt without a title game, will also consider breaking into two five-team divisions that still includes a full, nine-game round-robin for each school during the regular season. The expectation is that ESPN will air the championship game in odd-numbered years and Fox in even-numbered years.

Bowlsby said having a championship game is expected to add nearly $30 million in annual revenue for the conference and its members.

Bowlsby added that the conference also has decided not to pursue having its own TV network. “The marketplace has decided for us that this is not the time for us to go forward with a traditional conference network,” he said.

Satellite camps exist for high school football players like Wyryor Noil

One topic that was not decided Friday and remains under discussion is the conference’s size. At 10 members, the Big 12 is the smallest in the FBS, but it has struggled to find potential new members that would add a lot to the league’s tradition, competitive strength, fan interest and bottom line. Bowlsby announced Friday that the league distributed $30.4 million to its members in the past year, a 20% increase year over year.

Big 12 board chair David Boren said Friday, “We are continuing to consider possible expansion and what it might do positively and negatively in its impact on the conference.”