TCU and Baylor were left out of College Football Playoffs in 2014 after both schools ended the regular season co-champions. The Big 12 as a conference also felt left out in the cold over having a team with a chance to play for a national championship.
So the conference decided to reinstate the Big 12 Championship Game next season in hopes of avoiding that scenario again. The question remains on what type of format will be chosen.
“Among the things that I expect will happen, I think we will probably end up playing divisions,” said Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby during Monday’s media day session. “I think our two champions of those divisions will end up likely playing each other in the championship game.”
The championship game will also likely be played on a neutral site and there will be a bidding process. But the format possibilities still seem to be a work in progress.
“It has to be set up to understand that we’re doing this so we can get in the four-team playoff,” said TCU head coach Gary Patterson. “So I don’t think that you can say that you can divide it north and south. I think a championship game will help us, but you can’t have one that’s 11-1 going in the championship game and the other be 7-4 because then in the computer rankings, you’re going to hurt yourself.”
“If the teams have already played and then they run it back, is that going to be fun for the fans? I don’t know,” said Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury. “I think that it’s exciting for us to have a showcase game like that late in the season but how we’re going to structure it? The divisions, you worry, because do we not play Oklahoma one year or Baylor one year. You hate to see those games go away.”
With the championship game returning, the conference expects to bring in around $28 million more in revenue on an annual basis.
