Big 12 Heading to Washington, D.C.

The Big 12 may finally be in position to shape the future of college athletics.

This week, news broke that President Donald Trump is preparing to launch a presidential commission on college athletics. It’s viewed as a first step toward tackling the mess that is the current college athletics model.

Nick Saban will be one of the co-chairs, which might raise some red flags for Big 12 fans.

Saban recently went on The Pat McAfee Show and suggested the super league cutoff in college football should be at 40 teams. That would leave a lot of Big 12 schools out in the cold.

But this is where Cody Campbell enters the chat.

You’ve heard me talk plenty about the Texas Tech mega-booster. Now, you’re going to hear a lot more. Multiple reports confirm that Campbell will co-chair the commission alongside Saban. That’s a massive win for the Big 12.

Campbell’s oil fortune and influence carry weight, but more importantly, he’s been actively pushing for long-term reform in college sports—and now he has a real seat at the table.

Here’s a good summary of Campbell’s vision:

The best-case scenario for the Big 12?

Project Rudy.

Project Rudy is a proposal that would reorganize college football into a 70-team super league, pooling media rights NFL-style and forming new conferences based on geography.

That’s essentially the model Campbell is advocating for.

The project claims it would generate over $1 billion in extra revenue per year, with the money distributed through a tiered system based on performance. Blue bloods would still reap rewards, but it would create a much more stable and equitable future for Big 12-level schools.

It’s worth reading in full. Even an SEC source, quoted by Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger, acknowledged how innovative the proposal is.

The obvious challenge: getting the SEC and Big Ten to willingly give up power.

And let’s be honest, nobody in 2025 is handing away leverage out of goodwill, especially not the two conferences that have been conquering the rest of the college football world in the last decade.

That’s why Campbell’s position—and potential involvement from Congress or the White House—matters.

Campbell says the key is a legislative package that includes:

• An antitrust exemption

• Clarifying that student-athletes are not employees

• College sports’ inclusion in the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961

Five U.S. senators are already in ongoing negotiations over potential college sports legislation. Yes, I know how slow D.C. can move with more pressing matters at hand, but if the White House is now paying attention, this could become very real.

I’ve seen some Big 12 fans skeptical about Campbell’s true motives.

Right now, Tech is thriving in the current environment, putting together a $40 million football roster and landing the top transfer class in the country. Why mess with that?

But Campbell has been clear that he supports a more sustainable and balanced model. One that allows fair compensation for football and men’s basketball athletes without gutting Olympic sports or bankrupting donors.

Even with billions at his disposal, I doubt Campbell wants to be personally bankrolling the arms race forever.

Now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Project Rudy still faces long odds. But Campbell’s new role gives me more hope than I’ve had in a while that some version of meaningful change could actually happen.

If it does, the Big 12 might just have a voice in what comes next.

Guns up.

What You Need to Know

• Brett Yormark isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. The Big 12 Board of Directors has given Yormark a three-year contract extension through 2030. He had previously agreed to a five-year deal in 2022. 

• Utah star quarterback Cam Rising has officially medically retired. Rising says the hand injury he suffered during the Baylor game last year was a career-ending injury. 

• Oklahoma State beat out Florida and Florida State for Miami safety Zaquan Patterson in the transfer portal. The Cowboys also landed Nebraska offensive lineman Grant Seagren this week. 

• CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein has very high praise for Kevin Young and BYU this upcoming season. Here’s where he thinks the Cougars’ ceiling is with A.J. Dybansta. 

• Shameless plug, but you can listen to my interview with KSL Utah beat writer Josh Furlong here. We discussed what will happen with the Big 12 long-term and where Utah fits into that equation.

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