Attitude and Atmosphere Around the Big 12 Varies But Hopes Are Similar

On my local radio show in Oklahoma this week I've been talking to members of the radio broadcast crews around the Big 12 to check out what is going on. It is bizarre and like most of the country, kind of like a Twilight Zone episode.

STILLWATER -- Wednesday (April 15) members of the College Football Playoff Management Committee, the major conference commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick held a conference call with Vice President Mike Pence. Government and Athletic administration will be working together to guide us into the new normal of society and sports, whatever that will look like. According to multiple sources, the call was a feeling out process to see where everybody is standing currently. 

The Trump administration wants to move the country out of the economic woes and get people working again, but do it in a safe fashion as COVID-19 pandemic and fight will allow.

Again, according to multiple sources and his quote. Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby made it perfectly clear.

"Our players are students,” Bowlsby said after the call to CBS Sports Dennis Dodd. “If we’re not , we’re not having contests. Our message was, we need to get universities and colleges back open, that we were education-based programs, and we weren’t going to have sports until we had something closer to normal college going on.”

My perusal of the Big 12 through the eyes of many of the conference radio announcers, some that work on athletic department staff, is that is not ready to happen. 

"I went to the H-E-B grocery store the other day and most of the people are wearing masks," said the voice of the Baylor Bears John Morris. "It is a surreal experience. There are very few people out."

"We had a campaign for people to buy gift certificates for small businesses in Manhattan," explained sideline football reporter and play-by-play voice for some other Kansas State sports Matt Walters. Walters is also a banker with Commerce Bank. "It just ended and it raised $250,000. People helping people here, but Manhattan is hurting."

I can tell you that Stillwater looks like a ghost town with the parking spots on Main Street in downtown, normally fought for most of the day this time of year at 90 percent empty. Stillwater is normally a town of close to 55,000 becomes about half of that when there is no school. All students are in online classes. 

It's the same across the board. Chip Brown is not on a radio crew, but does a sports talk radio show for AM 1300 The Zone in Austin. He is a veteran sportswriter as well. 

"Texas is pretty deserted, the campus, but they are still working on athletic projects like the football stadium and new facilities in the end zone," Brown said. "They are also going to work on the new basketball arena and that is due to open in January of 2022." 

Brown said that University of Texas athletics director Chris Del Conte is one of the best fundraisers he has even crossed paths with. However, Brown said even Texas would be in a struggle with the near $100,000,000 that is brought in each season by the financial engine at every Power Five campus in the country with maybe the exception of Kansas, football.

Kansas color analyst and a former Jayhawk football player in David Lawrence said the calendar doesn't even feel right.

"It feels like July or late June," Lawrence said if the period of the year where little is going on with college football and the coaches are usually gone of vacation. 

Big 12 schools are in varying states of preparing for financial shortfalls. Iowa State jumped on it in a hurry as athletic director Jamie Pollard cut salaries 10 percent across the board and asked coaches under contract to give up any bonuses earned. The report is they did. 

"I think everybody was on the same page, 'We don't want to see any of our co-workers lose their job and we don't want to lose our job,' the voice of the Cyclones, John Walters said. "For Jamie to be proactive and I think he was the first athletic director to do something about this. It shows the culture of the athletic department. We are all on the same team and we want to do our part."  

John Morris told me Baylor is doing something similar.

"I'll tell you what happened this week, (Baylor) President (Linda) Livingstone, proud Oklahoma State graduate, had an announcement and gave the word to everybody here that we need to find and their estimate is $65-80-million and cut it from the budget. That is not all athletics, but athletics is included. That is the entire University that they are looking to find and cut $65-80-million."

Morris said so far, the annual cost of living salary increase is out. Travel and many budget luxuries are being lopped off and while no salaries have been cut, it is the next step.

I can tell you that sources have told me that Oklahoma State has had discussions in their athletic department meetings on varying levels of cuts that will be needed based on a variety of circumstances such as football on time, football delayed, football with fans, football with no fans, and no football at all. On top of daily expenses Oklahoma State is still paying for a new baseball stadium that the COVID-19 pandemic kept from even being opened. 

That money is critical to athletic departments and some think there is too much monetary responsibility on the backs of major college football players. However, most schools in scholarship room and meals, supplies, coaching, and cost of attendance checks spend $125,000 to $200,000 per football student-athlete. 

I guarantee if you ask the student-athletes if they want to play, they do. Morris agreed. 

"I agree, I think you're right in that the players want to play," said the voice of the Bears. "It is up to the coaches and the athletic directors to make sure it is safe for the players. Otherwise, some of these guys might go out and do things that are not advisable because they want to play that much. Everybody here (Baylor) is going to make sure it is completely safe for everybody before they open the doors again."

While the Big 12 and it's collection of primarily college towns are hurting. Suffering because their communities' major financial engine, the schools and campuses are shut down. The hope for some normalcy is based on football returning.

That could mean games with no fans. The Big 12 has some hefty television contracts with both ABC/ESPN and Fox. They had third-tier agreements with ESPN with the Longhorn Network and ESPN Plus as a streaming provider of games. No fans but television cameras and radio microphones would bring in rights fees. 

I asked fellow sideline radio reporter Matt Walters if he would be okay with broadcasting a game without fans. 

"Yes, I wouldn't like it. I would hate it," Walters quickly stated. "It's interesting that you ask that Robert, because this morning on my way to work I was imagining just that meaning the energy. Just like I do you feed off of that, off of a Chuba Hubbard 90-yard touchdown run or I feed off of a Skyler Thompson 90-yard touchdown pass. There is positive and negative energy like a guy getting blown up on a tackle and fumbling. You and I feed off of that and I can't imagine what that would be like (not having that energy)."

Like Walters said, it would be strange and weird, but you would take it. You also would know fans would rather be there for and with their teams, but just to see them play on TV or hear the games on radio would be much better than what we have now, nothing. 

The other Walters that I spoke to this week is hopeful and told me he is not shy to ask for divine influence. 

"No matter how we might differ on our prediction of what might happen and when it might happen, we are definitely on the same page on one thing and this is what we all want," Iowa State's Walters said explaining that having football is a sign of other better developments. "That is for the season to start on schedule. We would all love to see that. It would be great news for our society and it would be great news for the World. Let's just pray that happens. I know I've been praying for that and I know you have been praying for that and let's just hope we get that result."

When he met on teleconference with the media a couple of weeks ago, Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby did say with a new sponsor the conference was planning full speed ahead on football media days. His comment came on the heels of SEC commissioner Greg Sankey saying the same thing. David Lawrence of Kansas told me he hopes to see me there.

"I look forward to seeing you in Dallas, Texas at Big 12 Football Media Days," Lawrence said. "I'm hoping we will have a football season in 2020 to talk about."