Thursday, August 20, 2009
During the Big 12 media days at the end of July, media, coaches and players were allowed a sneak peek at the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The unveiling of the $1.15 billion stadium was met by Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe’s announcement that the championship game might be permanently played there.
“When we awarded certain cities championships, the board of directors said we’re not ready to lock them in yet,” Beebe said. “But they haven’t seen this.”
The conference has already decided to play the 2009 and 2010 championship games in Arlington but Beebe is proposing to move all future championships to the site. Beebe said there are advantages to having the game change locations but there are also advantages to keeping it in one spot.
“I think Dallas is fairly accessible for whatever part of the conference you come from, even by driving if you need to,” Beebe said. “So I think that’s a big attraction.”
Cowboys Stadium is the largest domed stadium in the world and will be able to seat 100,000 people. It also features climate control to create optimal playing conditions. Having it in a consistent location could also have potential for a large fan base that would come to the game each year. But even with all of the benefits some coaches would rather not play in Dallas.
Colorado coach Dan Hawkins said that every coach wants optimal playing conditions for their team but putting the game in Dallas would give the south an advantage. The teams of the north would just have to overcome it if this became the situation just like teams in the south have to deal with weather when they play up north, Hawkins said.
“There would be a quasi-home game and there’s an advantage to that,” Hawkins said.
Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said he could see why the conference would want to have a permanent location but he said he enjoyed the environment of Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. Snyder said Arrowhead was a great stadium to play in and would want to play for the championship there in the future.
In the south, Texas Tech coach Mike Leach saw the move to Dallas as a way to stabilize and protect players from the elements. Leach said he thought it was easier for teams in the north to get to Dallas than it was for teams in the south to get to Kansas City or another location in the north.
“Some teams aren’t going to like it but it’s about what’s best for the conference,” Leach said.
Texas coach Mack Brown also admitted there would be an advantage for the teams in the south. Brown said he liked the ideas of bringing the championship to Dallas because it would give more fans the chance to come to the game.
Beebe said that the conference board of directors would not make a decision until after playing this year’s championship game. Beebe said the contract would be open after the 2010 game for locations including Kansas City, Houston, Dallas and other past locations to try to land the championship game.
— — Edited by Tim Burgess
Big 12 Tourney to stay at Sprint ...
The Big 12 Conference said Friday that its men's basketball tournament will ...
Montemayor: Big 12 title is within reach
Key players, confident coach good indications it's time for a Big 12 ...
Big 12 North football previews
Big 12 North football previews for Nebraska, Iowa State, Colorado, Missouri and ...
Red River Rivalry highlights second week of ...
Missouri, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State look to remain undefeated and make noise ...
Brew: Snyder defines KSU success
Kansas State coach Bill Snyder ranks among coaching elite because of his ...
Football: Big 12 South Preview
Here is a preview of Big 12 South teams and the up ...
Big 12 football faces tough competition
Tougher match-ups, national exposure could prove beneficial to recruiting.
Red Raiders, Sooners set to clash in ...
An Oklahoma win could create a three-way tie in South, while a ...
All eyes on the Sunflower Showdown
After two Big 12 South upsets last week, the Big 12 North ...
Hayes: Neutral territory true test of team
A win away from home would prove team’s record equivalent to its ...
Perkins speaks on upcoming football season
Athletics director Lew Perkins spoke of planned improvements in defense and a ...
Home, sweet home
The Big 12 Conference basketball tournaments will return to Kansas City, Mo., ...
Olympic Village would shed light on soccer ...
A lack of lighting on the Kansas soccer team’s field has been ...
Big 12 football notes
Big 12 teams to continue showdown with Big East
Keefer: Predictions of Big 12 team’s Bowl ...
A Mizzou win could ensure the Jayhawks an appearance in a better ...
Kemper’s last stand for Big 12
What's next for the Big 12?
The loss of two teams will drastically alter the Kansas schedule in ...
Stakes rise in Big 12 showdown
Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing should have sweet dreams Friday night. Last year, ...
Oklahoma loses second game of the season
Backup quarterbacks, non-conference losses define weekend for several Big 12 teams.
Big 12 Media Day: Overview of Big ...
See how next Football seasons looks before it starts.
Column: Ranking this season’s bowl games
Take a look at Kory Carpenter’s ranking of this winter’s college football’s ...
Missouri's Smith captures national honors after victory
Texas to remain in Big 12
The University of Texas announced today that it will remain in the ...
Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe addresses media
Beebe addressed the media Tuesday morning concerning the recent salvation of the ...
Big 12 teams face suspensions, injuries
Problems stand in the way of teams gearing up for the weekend.
Coaches argue about preseason polls
The debate continues about how accurately college football polls reflect team talent.
Big 12 Football Media Days: Addressing Realignment
The Big 12 Football Media Days have the whole Big 12 family ...
Candidate breakdown: Who could be the next ...
The sports staff evaluates the options for Turner Gill's replacement.
Kansas has everything to gain from trip ...
Dodd: Big 12 North teams have a ...
Kansas and Missouri were supposed to reign in the Big 12 this ...
Wheeler: Snyder, Mangino have similar coaching careers
Bill Snyder made remarkable progress with Kansas State during his first five ...
Kansas State preview
This year’s Big 12 championship is different
After losing all of his starters, Self wins another championship with young ...
Dufek: The Big 12 North didn’t stand ...
Dominant teams such as Oklahoma and Texas were destined to steamroll the ...
An updated looking at football coaching candidates
Larry Fedora still tops the list while Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn ...
Yankee Stadium to host Big 12 bowl ...
Stadium in the Bronx will host an annual college football bowl game.
Rival coaches share common roots
Mark Mangino and USF coach Jim Leavitt both have ties to Bill ...
Big 12 Conference intact, for now
As many as eight teams could leave the Big 12 conference, possibly ...
Rising coaching salaries leave Mangino behind
What these high-dollar salaries do to universities and student-athletes is interpreted differently ...
North has what it takes
The usually South dominated Big 12 now sees competition from the North.
From left: Kimberlee Hinkle, Libby Johnson and Hannah ...
1 comment
Kansas Jayhawk fans hold aloft a reproduction of ...
2 comments
Erin Saupe, a Ph.D. student from St. Cloud, ...
1 comment
0 comments
Armed robbers continue to threaten.
3 comments
Lecture from Greg Mortenson, co-author of New York ...
0 comments
Comments
Championship may move to Dallas for good
Totally against the conference stationing the game in Dallas. I think it's cool that the Big 12 has continued to rotate. But if Dallas gets the football championship game, the Sprint Center better become the permanent home for the basketball tournament.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID