Less than a week ago, amid the glitz and glamour of AT&T Stadium, Big 12 media days were a jovial event.
Masks were mostly eschewed. Handshakes were encouraged. Smiles, laughs and even hugs were abound. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian and Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley milled about with media members, and commissioner Bob Bowlsby celebrated the cohesion of his conference—they stuck together during a season amid a pandemic, battled the elements and came out even stronger.
Or so he thought.
“A motivation for conference expansion or realignment,” he said last Wednesday, “it’s gone, or just not there at this point in time.