Welcome to the Big 12 Buzz! Things are going to look a little different during the offseason but that doesn’t mean I can’t share what’s on my mind this week in the Big 12.
More Private Equity
Last week, the University of Utah made history and finalized a private equity partnership with New York-based firm Otro Capital. Now it appears the Big 12 is trying to pull off something similar.
The conference is on the cusp of a deal with RedBird and Weatherford Capital for what would be a $500 million infusion of cash for the league and its members. Each Big 12 school will get access to up to $30 million in cash if it decides to opt in.
The Big 12 Conference would get an infusion of cash, and RedBird would help drive commercial business, help create new business, and even help the Big 12 find investment opportunities. Second, each Big 12 school would get access to up to $30 million in cash as needed. Last is a strategic relationship to make the Big 12 office more “professionalized.” Which, I have no idea what the hell that even means.
The line of credit is intriguing. Giving the schools an opt-in or opt-out is unique. It will make the schools more comfortable with it. Without knowing how the money gets paid back, it’s hard to know whether it’s good or not. The deal isn’t final, and nothing has been signed as of now. Schools that use it will probably be more competitive than the schools that don’t. Plus, $30 million is only going to handle less than two years of revenue-sharing in today’s world of college football.
There’s still a lot of kinks to be worked out but I must give credit to Yormark for not sitting on his hands. He’s always been proactive instead of reactionary and this is a great example of that. It’s no secret that the Big 12 is behind the SEC and Big Ten when it comes to cash and this could help play catch up but only time well tell if it pays off.
Goodbye Kyle Whittingham
We say goodbye to yet another Big 12 head coach this week with the news of Kyle Whittingham stepping down at Utah. Whittingham has spent the last 30 years in Salt Lake City and become the head coach in 2005.
The man has been at Utah for almost as long as I have been alive and I’m no spring chicken anymore. While his time in Salt Lake City is coming to an end, his time there will not be forgotten. He won three conference titles between the Mountain West and Pac-12 and has won multiple coach of the year awards.
Whittingham leaves Utah with a record of 177-88 along with 11 bowl victories. That resume alone should be good enough to get into the college football hall of fame, but the question is what will he do next? Will he retire or will he go somewhere else? That is the million-dollar question.
The other thing is that Utah has had a head coach in waiting for over a year now with Morgan Scalley who will take over after their bowl game. Much like Whittingham, Scalley has been on staff for an eternity, worked his way up to be the defensive coordinator and now will be the head honcho. Coming into this year, the Big 12 had two of the longest tenured head coaches between Gundy and Whittingham and now they are both gone which feels weird.
Jimmy’s F Bomb
Last week, during the Cy-Hawk basketball game, head football coach Jimmy Rogers was introduced to the home crowd at halftime and said, “Let’s cheer on Coach Otz and beat the fucking Hawks!”
Now there were plenty of people upset with that, but I was not one of those people. Jimmy was simply firing up the crowd for a pop, which he certainly got. Did he need to say the word Fuck to do it? Maybe not but I say fuck it.
I can say is that being in sports venues across the country you will hear no less than 20 F bombs around you whether it’s on the field, court, or in the stands. It’s sports and people are passionate, especially during a heated rivalry game. If people think Jimmy is wrong for saying fuck, then I am wrong everyday of my life. Last time I checked, this is America, and I have every right to use the first amendment and so does Jimmy Rogers.
