them.

There are, however, other conferences in which you could not only make more than enough money to keep the lights on but also keep winning at a very high level. And we’re pretty sure they’ll take your call. The most obvious being the Big Ten. It’s been trending this way for some time, but we may now be sitting on the cusp of a new era in college sports where the Power 5 becomes the Power 2. ESPN is all in on the SEC. And Fox, which has ridden Ohio State to ratings glory with its “Big Noon Kickoff” package, is likely going to back up a Brink’s Truck to buy out the other half of the Big Ten’s rights in 2023. If/when that happens, the annual checks cut to Big Ten and SEC members will be in another stratosphere from the ACC and Pac-12, much less a neutered Big 12. Big Ten payouts were projected to reach $70 million per school by 2025, and the SEC’s $66 million per school, before even considering the addition of another blue blood or two.

Finally, here’s one other admittedly wild possibility. We’ll call it the Gonzaga Option. What if Texas leaves and … you stay in the Big 12? We’d rebrand it, of course. Maybe add a few schools (Cincinnati? BYU?). Would it still be considered Power 5? Who cares? With the pending 12-team Playoff and its six automatic berths, if you keep winning the “Big 12,” you’ll keep going to the CFP almost every year, just like you do now. Much like the way Gonzaga basketball spends most of its season beating up on the WCC en route to playing for national titles. Now, this league definitely would not command Big Ten/SEC money. You, Oklahoma, would literally be the only major TV draw. But, it would also be your chance to throw some weight around. The entire conference would owe its existence to your show of loyalty. Bet you could get a little something extra for it — two shares of the annual conference revenue, maybe? An automatic bye to the league title game? One free holding call per game?