Baylor AD Mack Rhoades expects Big 12 schedules to drop soon
The Big 12 schedule release has been a hot topic and has only grown more intense the longer fourteen fanbases, and the collective college football audience have waited. It's understandable, too. The schedule release is a crucial element in most sports. Still, it's particularly intriguing for the Big 12, as it ushers in four brand new members while knowing this may be the last ride of Oklahoma and Texas on this circuit. And fresh off a National Championship participant.
It's also understandable because the release date has been pushed back enough times that you wonder whether the potential box-office draw is having production issues behind the scenes.
Then last week, it looked like a drop was on the horizon. Anticipation was built thanks to a tweet from UCF AD Terry Mohajir in a casual Twitter exchange with a Knights fan.
Next thing you know, the Houston Chronicle's Joseph Duarte picked up on the tweet, and a headline was born. Once on social media, it didn't matter that Mohajir quickly walked back his original statement. The word was out and ultimately incorrect.
"So, I love Terry. He's a great colleague, and welcome to the Big 12. But that doesn't begin until July 1st, 2023," Rhoades said on 365 Sports. "And I think the more accurate statement would have been Commissioner Yormark's statement while he was out in LA for the Championship game and talked about the end of January. And so, I think that is the timeline."
For those who missed those comments. What did the Commissioner say?
Back in Los Angeles on January 7th, ahead of the National Championship, outlets like the Houston Chronicle and 247Sports quoted Yormark as saying a schedule would be released "soon," and those in charge were fine-tuning at that point.
Yormark told the Chronicle, "Obviously, with four new schools coming in, we're trying to be very diligent about the process."
Fast forward to January 18th, and Rhoades, speaking on a late Tuesday afternoon, told 365 Sports that no one in the league had finalized schedules in front of them. And any attempts to dig for exact details would be futile, for now.
"Last week, I felt like it was end of January and not specifically this [Tuesday] date. And so we'll get there, and like all of our fans, we're looking forward to getting that release. And, just so everybody knows, we don't have it in front of us. And so if you want to ask me a question, I probably couldn't give an answer. It'd be off of maybe distant memory."
With a little more patience, we'll soon be poring over and debating the schedule's who, what, where, and when on which to build expectations, anticipation, and excitement for next season. For many, this info will lead to booking trips, buying tickets, and planning other events on the finalized summer and fall calendar.
But first, Rhoades said the schedules must arrive on Big 12 officials' desks for some quick proofreading.
"The process is we'll get it and have a day or two to look at it and make sure that we're aligned with all of our scheduling principles. And then, the conference office will release it. And, again, by end of January."
Regarding those principles, are TCU and Texas Tech automatics on future Baylor schedules? Will the Bears see either the Sooners or Longhorns again? If so, where? Which of the new four schools make their way to Waco and vice-versa? Which teams do they avoid or miss out on? Where does Utah at McLane in Week 2 rank among next year's most formidable opponents?
We'll find out soon enough.