No, we're not talking about realignment or TV money or grants of rights. But 2016 still feels like a referendum for a lot of Big 12 football programs.
All eyes are on the Big 12's current list of 783 potential expansion candidates - no word on how that Allen High School interview went, yet -- but with opening weekend around the corner, it's time to start turning to important things. Like sportsmanship violations.
Entering 2016, the Big 12 has four programs in a fairly steady states, but for different reasons. At the top, Oklahoma and TCU look like strong outfits again in 2016.