The Big 12 is finally going to catch back up to the rest of the Power Five as they have voted to bring back a conference championship game beginning with the 2017 season. This comes after the NCAA got rid of the rule that states a conference must have 12 teams before fielding a conference championship game.
The round-robin format to decide the conference’s champion will be intact for one more year before the implement the game next season. The conference’s 13-member board voted unanimously to bring back the game.
“We were unified about it, based on what it would do for our competitive position and what it would do to our financial position,” said Okalhoma President and Big 12 board chairperson David Boren, who has been the biggest advocate in the league for a championship game.
Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby reported that the conference championship game could bring in $27-28 million in revenue a year. The conference now has to decide if they will split into divisions, which could come with possible expansion, or pick the two best teams to go to the game.
This could end up being a good thing for the conference as the game could help them land a team in the College Football Playoff.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
