Fox, ESPN pay rights fees based on a 57-game inventory; conference-only schedule means just 46GETTY IMAGES
Big 12 presidents are “comfortable waiting two more weeks and maybe longer before making any definitive decisions about the upcoming college football season,” according to Brian Davis of the AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN. Texas Tech President Dr. Lawrence Schovanec indicated that league presidents “generally want to play a full 12-game season,” though the conference “must be ‘prepared to pivot’ should circumstances change surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.” He said that presidents are “ready to let fall practice begin as scheduled on Aug. 7 and could still make a change.” Schovanec made note that all decisions “will be made with student safety in mind.” Davis notes while TV money “is not the driving force,” Fox and ESPN pay the league “based on an inventory of 57 games.” A conference-only schedule provides just 46 games. Schovanec: “You can’t ignore those facts.” Schovanec added that stretching out the season “is possible, meaning the league would push back the date of the Big 12 championship game.” That would create “more space should teams have to postpone games because of high infection rates.” However, Schovanec admitted that an acceptable infection rate “hasn’t been determined by the league” (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 7/24).
BOWLSBY CONFIRMS DESIRE FOR 12 GAMES: Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby on Wednesday said that the conference "remains focused on a full 12-game regular season." In Dallas, Chuck Carlton noted should that change, conference schools have "plenty of other possibilities to consider from months of planning since COVID-19 radically changed the sports landscape." One that "surfaced this week is a 'plus-one' model to preserve one non-conference game along with nine full league games." Bowlsby said, "We've talked about that and any other model you could name." He added that an "advantage for a 'plus-one' could be leaving more flexibility in a schedule to deal with COVID-19 related complications." Carlton noted the next Big 12 BOD meeting of presidents and chancellors is Aug. 3, "near the date some have mentioned for making a decision on the season." Bowlsby "would not specify a particular date for a decision, mainly because of the large number of unknowns" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 7/23).
