A Big 12 story from outside the two main revenue-generating sports really caught my attention this week. 

Oklahoma State landed former Iowa State women’s basketball star Audi Crooks for a rumored $1.4 million. Whether you buy that number or not, one of the sport’s top insiders says the Cowgirls are spending more on their roster this year than anyone else. 

It immediately reminded me of the stir Texas Tech caused in the college softball world, especially within the SEC, when they signed four of the top ten transfer portal prospects last year.

At a time when most schools are scrambling for every penny to pour into football and men’s basketball, the Red Raiders had the cash to spend freely on non-revenue sports. 

Are Oklahoma State’s pockets getting just as deep as Tech's?

Carson Cunningham from the Pistols Firing Podcast told me a couple of months ago that Oklahoma State has far more money than people realize. It just wasn’t being tapped into because the football program had grown stale under former head coach Mike Gundy, who only begrudgingly played the NIL game.

Remember Boone Pickens? He gave Oklahoma State $230 million between two major gifts in 2003 and 2006. He passed away in 2019, but he’s far from the only wealthy OSU donor. Cunningham says OSU has more suites in its football stadium than anybody in the country. Michigan is second. 

Josh Pate, one of the most connected national voices in college football, also recently sounded the alarm that Oklahoma State is on the rise because of the resources at its disposal.

Even if Eric Morris got a bit of a hometown discount from stars like QB Drew Mestemaker, RB Caleb Hawkins, and WR Wyatt Young to sign with OSU, that’s still not a cheap roster. 247 Sports ranked the Cowboys' entire portal class as a top ten class in the country. 

And if you think donors are motivated now, wait until Morris gives them proof of concept with a successful season. The Cowboys have a real chance to do that this year.

It’s unlikely anyone in the conference goes dollar for dollar with Texas Tech anytime soon, but OSU is showing signs that it could compete with the Red Raiders in talent acquisition moving forward. The Cowboys clearly have more firepower than we realized.

Keep an eye on what’s building in Stillwater.

Big Draft for the Big 12

It was a great night at the NFL Draft for the Big 12. The league had more players taken in the first round (6) than it had in the previous two first rounds combined. Three of the top ten picks were from the Big 12, while the SEC had just one in the top ten.

Here are the Big 12 first-rounders:

Texas Tech DE David Bailey - #2 to the New York Jets
Arizona State WR Jordyn Tyson - #8 to the New Orleans Saints
Utah OT Spencer Fano - #9 to the Cleveland Browns
Arizona State OT Max Iheanachor - #21 to the Pittsburgh Steelers
UCF DE Malachai Lawrence - #23 to the Dallas Cowboys
Utah OT Caleb Lomu - #28 to the New England Patriots

What You Need to Know

• BYU star AJ Dybantsa officially declared for the NBA draft, but will still be a BYU student. Here’s how that will work.  

• Texas Tech landed another monster player in the men’s basketball transfer portal. 

• Check out this fascinating clause in Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd’s contract. 

• K-State QB Avery Johnson spoke about playing for new head coach Collin Klein for the first time this spring. 

• The coolest thing I’ve seen all week: this picture of Paul McCartney in a Big 12 school’s football jersey.

• Want your Big 12 news and analysis in podcast form? Listen to Open For Business at the gym, in your car, or first thing in the morning on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.

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