Big 12 Media Days: Addressing the Elephants in the Room

The 2026 Big 12 Media Days will be held on July 7 and 8 at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. And safe to say, there’s quite a few elephants in the room that need to be addressed. The Brendan Sorsby saga has seemingly ended, but at what cost to conference stability? How does the Big 12 move forward as the college football landscape continuously changes? These questions, and more, will need to be answered in one way or another.

There’s plenty of niche topics to address for every team in the conference. Yet instead, we’ll highlight every major question, concern, and inquiry that the Big 12 should be addressing at their Media Days in 2026.

2026 Big 12 Media Days: Addressing the Elephants in the Room

Unfortunately for the Big 12, there’s more than one elephant to address at this conference event. Whether or not everything is answered remains to be seen. However, these are the most important questions surrounding the event this year.

Brendan Sorsby Saga Over – Or is it?

Now that former Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby is no longer eligible to play college football this season, the drama surrounding him within the conference should be over, right?

Not so fast.

The truth is, the fallout from the Sorsby saga is likely to have long-lasting effects on the conference. It’s hard to imagine that Texas Tech doesn’t feel slighted by the conference. After all, they technically didn’t break any rules by trying to grant Sorsby’s eligibility for the 2026 season. Yet, that didn’t stop the Big 12 from pursuing litigation against the program to stop Sorsby from playing. Obviously, that motion caused the ultimate announcement that the quarterback would not be playing. However, with the conference taking such a drastic step against Texas Tech, how slighted does the university feel going forward?

Not to mention, members of the conference themselves were having serious discussing about blackballing the Red Raiders if they let Sorsby play. On the surface things may seem calm. However, don’t be surprised if Texas Tech uses this moment to argue for a jump to the SEC in its future. Regardless, this is a topic that has to be addressed at the Big 12 Media Days.

How Does the Big 12 Handle the Future?

College football is forever changing, and whether or not the Big 12 can adjust will be incredibly important. A big variable that could shift the landscape would be the result of the Protect College Sports Act, creating some significant changes.

Whether or not the Protect College Sports Act passes and freezes alignment or not – these discussions are currently taking place. And, if the PCSA were to pass, it would only short that window. Yet don’t be fooled, its importance could loom large.

With outside speculation suggesting a potential jump from Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, what options does the conference have to establish stability going forward? And, if conference membership does freeze, how can they increase their yearly revenue?

Currently, the Big 12 sits behind the ACC, last amongst the autonomy conferences in created revenue. Their $610.9 million was less than half of the second-place SEC, who secured $1.47 billion. The difference is stark, and for the Big 12, raises concerns about the future. Yes, they were profitable. However, getting leap-frogged by the ACC was not in their plans. Even worse, the trajectory continues to look poor.

Commissioner Brett Yormark needs to address conference alignment and stability, with a real plan going forward. Otherwise, the Big 12 may forever find themselves looking up at the other autonomy conferences.

Utah’s Private Equity Deal

After ensuring fans and alumni that part of their administration wouldn’t get the axe, Utah did exactly that soon after their partnership with Otro Capital was announced. Their new brand, Crimson Brand Partners (part of Utah Brands & Entertainment), will manage operations of events at stadiums and arenas, branding, licensing and sponsorships, ticketing, and digital media.

With cuts to the administration already coming, what could be next? Yet more interestingly, how does this deal affect the NIL and sponsorship when it comes to the football program? Further, commissioner Yormark should address (or be asked) about his stance on private equity within the conference. We’ve seen potential PE deals with the Big Ten fall through despite their commissioner pushing the envelope. What would Yormark’s stance be if the Big 12 had that same opportunity?

Private equity in and of itself isn’t bad. However, the fallout from mismanagement or inefficiency could lead to slashes everywhere if not handled correctly. While Utah is the first part in this potential change in the college football landscape, it certainly won’t be the last.

Houston, We Have Liftoff

One of the sleeping giants in the Big 12 are the Houston Cougars. They currently rank fourth in the Big 12 (37th overall) in composite rankings for their 2026 recruiting class and are coming off of a 10-win season under Willie Fritz. With his son as general manager, Houston knows where they want to attack through recruiting and the portal – and they’re doing it well. Because of that, Fritz should be a hot name at the 2026 Big 12 Media Days.

An interesting topic of conversation for Fritz could be that he has reunited with former star running back at Tulane, Mekhi Hughes. Despite his poor season at Oregon last year, Hughes is a true talent. And under Fritz, Hughes played extremely well with the Green Wave. Getting an understanding of where Hughes is at with the Cougars could be vital to their 2026 success.

Dave Aranda on the Hot Seat

Going into 2026, there may be no hotter seat in the conference than the one of Baylor head coach Dave Aranda. Going from 2-7 in his first season to a conference title the following year was truly impressive. Yet since that 2021 campaign, Aranda has just one winning season in the last four years. That’s far from the standard for Baylor football, who had just one losing season in the 10 years prior to Aranda’s hire.

With a 36-37 overall record and a 24-30 conference record, Aranda needs to produce in 2026. Questions about culture changes or differences in approach must be made. This is especially true in a season where the schedule is relatively favorable until the final stretch of the year.

Aranda should be applauded for getting Baylor over the hump in 2021. However, if they can’t find themselves on the right side of .500 this year, expect the program to move on from the head coach.