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No tears for Texas, Oklahoma as they get set to leave Big 12
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- No tears for Texas, Oklahoma as they get set to leave Big 12
No tears were shed for the impending departures of Texas and Oklahoma from the Big 12 during the conference's media days Wednesday and Thursday.
The divorce, years in the making will finally reach its conclusion next July, the Southeastern Conference welcoming the Longhorns and Sooners into the fold.
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While some have speculated about what the Big 12, especially in terms of football, will look like without two of its founding members, players, coaches and even administrators had similar outlooks.
They'll be fine.
"It's a little weird," Kansas State quarterback Will Howard said, "but they made that decision, and it is what it is. It's out of our control."
Commissioner Brett Yormark opened media days from AT&T Stadium at Arlington on Wednesday saying the conference will spend the 2023-24 year celebrating "the impact that Texas and Oklahoma have had on this conference since day one" before they hit the road.
University of Kansas Head Coach Lance Leipold does an interview with ESPN during the first day of Big 12 Media Days in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, July 12, 2023.
During a media scrum later in the day, Yormark had a different outlook on the present. He was asked since UT and OU "have carried recruitment for a while in the conference" what the big challenges will be to the rest of the Big 12 to fill the gaps.
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"I'm not sure they've carried recruitment," Yormark responded. "They haven't been in the championship game here for a couple of years now and all the other schools have done an incredible job, so I'm not sure they've been carrying recruitment for this conference.
"I love Texas and Oklahoma, don't get me wrong. Like I've said before I've got great relationships with them, but our schools are doing (an) incredible job in recruitment. Look at TCU's run last year. Eighty-percent of our teams made the bowl games last year. Everyone's in a great place."
Kansas head coach Lance Leipold had a similar outlook in terms of recruiting. The Jayhawks began the 2022 season 5-0 and wound up in the team's first bowl game since 2008. That has boosted the Jayhawks' recruiting appeal, Leipold said, and it hasn't diminished because the conference is losing two notable names.
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"... We've had our best success recruiting against some of the brands across the country than we ever have," Leipold said. "... I have not had anyone say they're worried about playing in the Big 12 because of schools leaving. That has not been articulated to me at all."
Yormark and many of the coaches highlighted the conference's depth and parity, noting the teams that have played for the conference championship usually aren't the ones picked to win the conference before the season. This includes last year's Big 12 title game which saw Kansas State — picked fifth in the preseason conference poll — outlasting TCU — picked seventh and went to the College Football Playoff national championship game.
Other players simply stated it'll be "different" without UT and OU. That, of course, is also combining those two impending departures with the arrivals of Central Florida, Brigham Young, Houston and Cincinnati. The four newcomers joined the Big 12 earlier this month and were on full display in Arlington.
"And now you've got to go back and do a bunch of homework on teams you don't know about yet," K-State head coach Chris Klieman said. "We get UCF and Houston, and we had to do a lot of legwork on them this spring and summer because we didn't know anything about them."
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Kansas linebacker Rich Miller said he hasn't thought about the departures too much, mostly because, being a senior, this is his last go in the Big 12 as well. It provides him a unique perspective to the situation.
"I get to be one of the last ones to play against them in the Big 12," Miller said. "That's a good way to look at it."
Arne Green and Jordan Guskey of the Topeka Capital-Journal contributed to this report.
Kansas State quarterback Will Howard speaks to ESPN on the second day of Big 12 Media Days in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, July 13, 2023.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: No tears for Texas, Oklahoma as they get set to leave Big 12
