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Forbes magazine put together a list of the top 20 most valuable college football programs, and the team at the top is no surprise.

Everything's bigger in (Austin) Texas. Especially football budgets.

The Longhorns topped the list with a value of $129 million, producing $96 million in revenue and $71 million in total profit, far ahead of its nearest competitors.

The program's value is $17 million more than No. 2, Notre Dame. Its produced $19 million more in revenue than Alabama, second in that category. It produced $18 million more in total profit than No. 2 Georgia.

The Big 12 had three teams in the top 20. Oklahoma checked in at No. 10 and Texas A&M was No. 17.

The Sooners were valued at $87 million, produced $59 million in revenue and made $36 million in profit.

The Aggies were valued at $63 million, produced $45 million in revenue and made $30 million in profit.

Forbes also studied the game's best teams for the money, and Kansas State checked in at No. 1 this year. Its expenses were just $11 million, which cashed out at $1,086,705 per victory, the best mark of any team in the country.

Oklahoma State checked in at No. 3, at $1,253,388 per win. Its expenses were $14 million.

Baylor was No. 8, at $1,619,672 per win. Its expenses were $15 million.

A quick show of hands, please, from anybody who braved the lines at their nearby Denny’s Restaurant for a free Grand Slam breakfast this morning.

The thought occurred to me to check it out, so I drove by the nearest location after I delivered my boy to school earlier today.

The lines outside the restaurant convinced me that a wiser choice was to return back home to my blogging duties.

Here are some stories from across the Big 12 this afternoon that should prove a little more substantial than the blueberry Pop Tart I had instead.

• The Lincoln Journal Star’s Steve Sipple relates that new Tennessee coach Derek Dooley contacted Nebraska defensive coordinator Carl Pelini about joining his staff in a similar position before settling on Justin Wilcox.
• The San Antonio Express-News/Houston Chronicle’s Brent Zwerneman senses a growing sense of accountability in terms of wins and losses among Mike Sherman’s staff at Texas A&M.
• The Sporting News’ Matt Hayes mentions in his mailbag that Kansas’ hiring of Turner Gill stood apart from other coaching hires.
• The Austin American-Statesman’s Richard Tijerina’s must-read “Breakfast with Bevo” reports that the Texas football team was honored during halftime at the Longhorns’ “Big Monday” game against Kansas last night. It was probably the bright spot for most of the fans who attended the game.
• The Lawrence Journal-World’s Lindsey Slater reports that Kansas is expanding an area of discounted seats at Memorial Stadium and dropping some prices of season tickets to as low as $199 for the upcoming season.
• The Omaha World-Herald’s Tom Shatel writes that Nebraska’s offense should be based on dominating linemen rather than speedy receivers -- so he’s not necessarily worried about the Cornhuskers’ most recent recruiting class.
• Former Baylor wide receiver Lawrence Elkins was among 10 former athletic figures inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame Monday night, the Waco Tribune-Herald’s John Werner reports.
• Mediation talks between Mike Leach’s attorneys and those representing Texas Tech have failed to reach an out-of-court settlement, although the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Matthew McGowan reports that talks have not broken down.
• Heralded recruit Gilbert Moye, who played tailback for Missouri, has left the Tigers’ program, the Columbia Tribune’s Dave Matter reports. Moye plans to transfer to a Southwestern Athletic Conference or Southland Conference program with hopes to play quarterback at his new school.
• Missouri ranks third among possible Big Ten expansion candidates in a online readers’ poll commissioned by USA Today. The Tigers rank behind leader Notre Dame and No. 2 Pittsburgh.
• Derek Summers of the Oklahoma State Daily O’Collegian reports that Mike Gundy is looking for immediate contributions from some members of the Cowboys’ 2010 recruiting class.
• Former Baylor assistant coach and current North Carolina State linebackers coach Andy McCollum is close to being hired on Paul Johnson’s staff at Georgia Tech, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Doug Roberson reports.

I’ve been intrigued by all the commentary in recent days about Lane Kiffin’s move from Tennessee to USC.

Fans and pundits have castigated Kiffin about his move to a job that has to rank among the top 10 in college football -- even after some of the Trojans’ pending dealings with the NCAA.

Soon thereafter, Texas assistant coach Will Muschamp was thrown into the conversation as a potential replacement for Kiffin at Tennessee. Muschamp, who is the coach-in-waiting at Texas, apparently had the chance to make an unprecedented salary for a first-time college football coach if had decided to lead the Volunteers.

Muschamp opted to stay in Texas, which I believe was a wise choice. The promise of the Longhorns’ top job, even if he has to wait on Mack Brown’s retirement for several seasons, is still is better than the Tennessee job will ever be.

And who can blame Kiffin for trading the life at Tennessee for the glitz and glitter of living in southern California? It seems like an easy choice, particularly because the USC program is a better job.

While I was talking with Nebraska defensive coordinator Carl Pelini last night, we started ticking off an informal list of the best jobs in college football. Here’s my list of the 10 most attractive head coaching positions in college football. Three of them are in the Big 12.

1. Texas: It’s got it all -- facilities, support, tradition and located within a rich recruiting base. Mack Brown has made this the nation’s best job. Muschamp would be crazy to skedaddle to Rocky Top and leave this behind.

2. Florida: Recruiting might be better than Texas and the location provides a beach lifestyle. The only trouble with this job, compared to Texas, is that Florida’s place in the SEC is a little more tenuous than Texas’ place in the Big 12.

3. Ohio State: Tradition, facilities and an unmatched place in the pecking order of the Big Ten. Some coaches would love the weather in Columbus, while snowbirds might see it lacking compared to places like those at the top..

4. USC: “Tailback U” has returned to the top thanks to Pete Carroll’s transformation. This is the football team for a southern California without an NFL franchise.

5. Alabama: Still wondering why Dennis Franchione left Alabama for Texas A&M. Another stadium expansion after this season’s national championship has made this a job that Nick Saban would willingly leave one of the NFL’s flagship franchises to return to. Considering his college allegiance, he’s a smart man.

6. Oklahoma: Bob Stoops might have the best setup in coaching considering he’s working for Joe Castiglione and David Boren. Recruiting will always be a matter of plucking Texas players and Stoops has done a marvelous job at that over the years.

7. Penn State: It will be interesting to see who follows Joe Paterno when he finally decides to hang up his whistle. This is one of the Big Ten’s best jobs with facilities and history to match. It might be daunting to follow Paterno, however.

8. Notre Dame: Still has the attention of NBC and the tradition of college football’s most storied program. Can they find the right coach to return Notre Dame to its place of dominance?

9. LSU: There’s a reason why Les Miles decided to stay here rather than pursue the Michigan job. Rabid talent base and SEC television money make this one special. And you can eat good crawfish any time you want.

10. Nebraska: The only drawback for this job is its lack of a fertile home recruiting area. But other than that, this job has got it all including one of the nation’s most knowledgeable fan bases. It’s the biggest unifier for the entire state as college football is clearly king here.

I would have a few other jobs like Georgia, Tennessee, Oregon, UCLA and Florida State ranked just below these top jobs. Texas A&M would be in my top 20. Oklahoma State -- as long as Boone Pickens is financially priming the pump -- would be in my top 30.

I’m curious what the readers might think in terms of a top 10 of destination coaching jobs? Please feel free to provide your rationale to back up your assertions.

No games today, but do we have some links for you.

Read these to keep your mind on Big 12 football while everybody else hogs the New Year's Day spotlight.

• Texas Tech inside receivers coach Lincoln Riley was a high school quarterback at Muleshoe, Texas, during Mike Leach’s first two seasons at the school. Now, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s Don Williams reports, Riley will be calling the team’s plays Saturday night in the Valero Alamo Bowl against Michigan State.
• Austen Arnaud credited Iowa State’s defense for coming together to provide the Cyclones’ Insight Bowl victory over Minnesota, Randy Peterson of the Des Moines Register reports. And the Register’s Sean Keeler opines that the Cyclones’ victory won’t earn many style points, but who’s complaining?
• Oklahoma’s first bowl victory since 2005 was an emotional statement for the Sooners, the Oklahoman’s Berry Tramel reports.
• Gary Pinkel tells the Kansas City Star’s Mike DeArmond that Missouri’s 35-13 thumping at the hands of Navy was the worst bowl-game performance in his head-coaching career. And the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Bernie Miklasz details five reasons why the Midshipmen unexpectedly dominated the Tigers in the Texas Bowl.
• It was fitting that El Paso was the site of Landry Jones’ record-setting bowl passing performance for Oklahoma, according to the Tulsa World’s Dave Sittler.
• ESPN.com’s Ivan Maisel predicts that Oklahoma will return to the top 10 next season.
• Richmond defensive coordinator and former Baylor coach Vic Shealy will join Turner Gill’s staff at Kansas, Dugan Arnett of the Lawrence Journal-World reports.
• Brian Hamilton of Chicago Breaking Sports.com reports that former Kansas offensive coordinator Ed Warriner will join Brian Kelly’s staff at Notre Dame as an offensive line coach.
• The Associated Press’ Alan Scher Zagier reports that athletes including football players were 10 times as likely to get special admission exemptions at Baylor, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma than the general student population.
• The Tulsa World’s Bill Haisten writes about the personnel challenges that Zac Robinson has overcome to take Oklahoma State to a 9-3 record this season.
• The Birmingham News’ Kevin Scarbinsky thinks that Auburn made an astute move in avoiding Mike Leach.
• The Valero Alamo Bowl might be better suited for Court TV, according to the Detroit Free Press' Michael Rosenberg.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

You've seen them across the blogosphere before. Heck, I've even done them in the past with a "hot-seat rating" for those coaches and their chance for employment in their current job.

I'd like to stretch those thoughts a little by coming up with something new -- a longevity rating for Big 12 coaches.

These ratings have been crafted to gauge how long I think each Big 12 coach will remain at his current job.

For example, nobody could ever argue with the coaching credentials of Mack Brown and Bill Snyder. Both will likely end up at the College Football Hall of Fame one of these days and neither has a seat that could even be considered remotely warm after their past accomplishments.

But with Will Muschamp already anointed as Texas' coach-in-waiting and Snyder's age, it would hard to imagine either of them coaching at their schools five to seven years from now.

These ratings not only judge the security a coach has been able to craft at his position, but also how likely he will remain at the job for an extended period of time.

1. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State: He's directed the Cowboys to the golden era of success and he's in surroundings with creature comforts that few programs can match. And he has an appreciation for how far his program has come since his own playing career two decades ago. He likes to say that this is his "destination job" for the rest of his lifetime. I believe him.

2. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma: Even with the recent BCS losses, he's as secure as any coach in the nation with a multi-million dollar annuity upcoming. Six Big 12 titles -- no other coach has more than one -- provide a sense of cache. But I still get the idea that this isn't his last coaching job. Maybe it's an NFL position; maybe it's another big-time college. He likely will consider it when his kids get older and might be looking for another coaching challenge somewhere down the line. But I don't look for it to happen anytime soon.

3. Bo Pelini, Nebraska: Arguably, Pelini might be positioned to make this his destination job, morphing into the new millennium's version of Tom Osborne. But it might be interesting to see what would happen if he has success and a top job in the Midwest at a power like Ohio State, Notre Dame or Penn State ever came open.

4. Mark Mangino, Kansas: He's piloted Kansas into what arguably might be the school's golden age of football success. But with that also comes expectations as the Jayhawks are coming into the season as Big 12 North favorites in many quarters for the first time. It will be interesting to see how the Jayhawks and Mangino react to that role.

5. Gary Pinkel, Missouri: His back-to-back title game appearances likely have earned him the leverage to make this his last job. But he's going to have to build on his success with a new cast of characters this season.

6. Mike Leach, Texas Tech: He became college football's newest made man after starting down athletic director Gerald Myers in a high-stakes game of chicken. Leach won. You could argue he's bigger than the program, considering the national attention he has generated for himself. But what would happen if he finally got the dream offer from another big-time job in another part of the country?

7. Art Briles, Baylor: If he turns Baylor into a winner, he should have his choice of other top jobs in the future. But with the school's new training facilities and improved recruiting, I could see him staying here for many years if he wants. But I can imagine it's going to get frustrating battling all of the strong schools around him in the South Division.

8. Mack Brown, Texas: Poised to go down in history as one of the greatest coaches in Texas history, I can see Brown always being employed by the school in some form or fashion. But as the head coach, I'm not so sure. With Muschamp waiting in the wings, the Longhorns have an orderly transition in place for settling on their next coach. How long it might be is anybody's guess. I could see Brown riding into the sunset if he ever won another BCS title. And that might come sooner than later.

9. Paul Rhoads, Iowa State: His administration will give him time, but this remains the most difficult place to win in the conference. He's surrounded himself with a solid staff of assistants for his difficult turnaround. It still might not be nearly enough.

10. Bill Snyder, Kansas State: It's got to be a heady feeling taking your team into a game in a stadium that has your name on it. That being said, Snyder will face some huge challenges that weren't there during the salad days of his program in the late 1990s. Will that still fuel his incredible work ethic at the age of 69? We'll see over the next few months. He's repeatedly said that he re-entered coaching to still the waters at his old school. How long will that take?

11. Dan Hawkins, Colorado: The pressure on him to win is incredible. And he didn't help himself with the 10-win claim, whether it was meant to help him set goals for the team or whatever. He does have a nice home schedule in conference play and an underrated set of players. But the Buffaloes' lack of big-play producers in the passing game could prove to be a season-long challenge -- particularly when matched against some of the other high-powered aerial attacks in the conference. It doesn't sound like a good recipe to spread a little more "Hawk Love" across the Flatirons.

12. Mike Sherman, Texas A&M: It's a different world coaching college football than in the NFL. Sherman has shown a quick aptitude for recruiting better athletes his program so desperately needs. But the Aggies appear mired in the South Division cellar at a time when competition has never been keener from all of the schools around them. And that's not a good set of circumstances to promote job security.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin There was an outstanding piece of research that appeared over the weekend in the Altoona (Pa.) Mirror that set out to ascertain a question that has been vexing over the years. Namely, which college deserves the title of "Quarterback U" for its proficiency in producing college players who eventually started games in the NFL? The findings were very interesting, particularly in terms of which schools have produced starting NFL quarterbacks and which ones have not in the modern era, starting with the 1966 season. Purdue earns an argument in the "Quarterback U" debate because its alums have started more NFL games (704) than any other school. Also, Purdue is the only school to have four quarterbacks start at least 100 games (Jim Everett, Len Dawson, Drew Brees and Bob Griese). USC leads the list with 15 quarterbacks who have started at least one game, followed by Notre Dame (13) and Washington (12). The Big 12, with its previous tradition of ground-based offenses in the old Big Eight and Southwest conferences, struggles mightily in this comparison. Here's the list of Big 12 schools and their starting quarterbacks. In a way, the numbers are a little skewed because it credits the starts of former college quarterbacks like Colorado's Kordell Stewart and Missouri's Brad Smith. Both have gone on to pro careers at positions other than quarterback. Here's how the Altoona Mirror stacks up the Big 12 programs in terms of starting quarterbacks and NFL starts. Kansas State (249 games, four starters): Steve Grogan 135, Lynn Dickey 111, Dennis Morrison 2, Dan Manucci 1. Kansas (190 games, three starters): John Hadl 135, Bobby Douglass 53, Frank Seurer 2. Colorado (95 games, two starters): Kordell Stewart 87, Koy Detmer 8. Nebraska (79 games, six starters): Vince Ferragamo 53, Jerry Tagge 12, Bruce Mathison 9, Dennis Claridge 3, David Humm 1, Terry Luck 1. Iowa State (52 games, four starters): David Archer 23, Sage Rosenfels 12, Seneca Wallace 12, Tim Van Galder 5. Texas Tech (47 games, one starter): Billy Joe Tolliver 47. Baylor (45 games, five starters): Cody Carlson 19, Don Trull 15, Buddy Humphrey 5, Cotton Davidson 4, Brad Goebel 2. Texas (44 games, two starters): Vince Young 29, Chris Simms 15. Missouri (18 games, three starters): Brad Smith 13, Steve Pisarkiewicz 4, Gary Lane 1. Texas A&M (16 games, three starters): Edd Hargett 7, Gary Kubiak 5, Bucky Richardson 4. Oklahoma State (14 games, one starter): Rusty Hilger 14. Oklahoma (no games, no starters). The study also credits a quarterback with where he finished school rather than started. So, Troy Aikman is considered to have attended UCLA rather than Oklahoma. As the story points out, it's interesting that a Division II program like Texas A&M-Commerce has been able to turn out three starters -- more than traditional powers Texas and Oklahoma combined. The Big 12's recent ascension as the nation's foremost passing conference will help change these statistics quickly in a few years. Because I'm thinking quarterbacks like Josh Freeman, Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy, Robert Griffin and maybe even Austen Arnaud or Zac Robinson will get their shot in the NFL one of these days.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

Enjoy your lunch with the accompaniment of these tasty lunchtime links from across the Big 12.

It will help build strong bodies 12 ways -- for those of you who still remember those old Wonder Bread commercials.

And provide a pretty good glimpse of where we are in the Big 12 with less than three weeks until the season openers finally roll around.

• The Oklahoman's Berry Tramel explains why Oklahoma State is the only Big 12 school without an indoor training facility dedicated specifically to football.
• The Sporting News figures out that the Big 12 South is the toughest division in college football.
• Omaha World-Herald columnist Tom Shatel writes what Ndamukong Suh needs to do to be included at the top of Nebraska's greatest defensive linemen.
• Colorado kicker Aric Goodman learned a lesson about perspective after he and several teammates helped save a Colorado student's life after Jacob Dana was involved in a serious bicycle accident, CUbuffs.com's B.G. Brooks reports.
• Baylor's hopes of playing Notre Dame in 2012 in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans are appearing to fade, the Waco Tribune-Herald reports.
• Former Texas Tech walk-on wide receiver Landon Hoefer jumped at the chance to start his career as a graduate assistant on Tommy West's staff at Memphis rather than complete his eligibility with the Red Raiders, the Memphis Commercial-Appeal's Phil Stukenborg reports.
• Des Moines Register columnist Sean Keeler predicts that Iowa State could flirt with bowl eligibility as the Cyclones finish in a three-way tie for fourth in the Big 12 North. And Keeler also writes how important early success will be for the Cyclones' fragile confidence.
• The loss of Jeremy Maclin and Jeff Wolfert -- arguably the most productive returner and kicker in Missouri history -- is causing a huge transformation to Missouri's special teams, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Vahe Gregorian reports.
• Kansas tailback Jake Sharp tells the Kansas City Star's J. Brady McCollough that he remains motivated, despite a strong foothold on the starting job.
• Idaho State vs. Oklahoma and Tennessee Tech vs. Kansas State make the Orlando Sentinel's ranking of the top five "Christians vs. the Lions" matchups of 2009.
• Texas A&M's quarterback battle between Jerrod Johnson and Ryan Tannehill likely will be settled sometime this week, the Houston Chronicle/San Antonio Express-News' Brent Zwerneman reports.
• The Kansas City Star's Paul Suellentrop writes that Kansas State's defensive line be key to any defensive growth.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

The Big 12 was seriously underrepresented in a poll released on Friday.

And no, I don't mean the USA Today coaches' poll.

Foxsports.com came up with a list of what it considers are the 10 most obnoxious fan bases in college football. The Big 12's only representative was Oklahoma at No. 4.

Here's a look at the poll, which leans heavily to national teams and rivals.

1. Notre Dame

2. Michigan

3. LSU

4. Oklahoma

5. USC

6. Clemson

7. Ohio State

8. Alabama

9. Florida State

10. Florida

All are good choices, but I have to think that the fan bases of several Big 12 fan bases also would deserve some mention.

Anybody have any recommendations?

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

Oklahoma and Army have signed an agreement to begin a two-game football series in 2018, both schools announced Tuesday.

The Sooners will host the Black Knights on Sept. 22, 2018, then travel to West Point, N.Y., to return the game on Sept. 26, 2020.

"Naturally, we're thrilled to announce this agreement with Army," Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione said in a prepared statement. "We have tremendous respect for what the Academy represents and will be privileged to share the football field with its team.

"We also recognize the large number of military personnel serving in the general vicinity of Norman and we hope that this series intrigues and excites them just as it does us. And, of course, on the return game, we will be very near New York City, which provides very good East Coast exposure for our program and university."

Oklahoma has played Army three times in school history, claiming two of the games. The Sooners won the most recent game in the series when Bud Wilkinson's team claimed a 14-8 victory over Army in Yankee Stadium on Nov. 18, 1961.

With Army committing to play at least one "marquee" game every season at Yankee Stadium in upcoming seasons, the Sooners game potentially could move to New York City. But the game is attractive to many Sooner fans because of the opportunity to play at picturesque Michie Stadium, where Oklahoma has not played since 1946.

Oklahoma is 3-2 overall against the service academies with a 1-0 mark against Air Force and a 0-1 record against Navy. The Sooners will meet Air Force in Norman in 2010.

The Sooners under Bob Stoops have shown perhaps the biggest commitment to play power schools from across the country as any Big 12 school. Oklahoma's future schedule has a game at Miami this season and home-and-home series planned with Florida State (2010-2011), Notre Dame (2012-2013), Tennessee (2014-2015), Ohio State (2016-2017) and LSU (2018-19).  

And while Army schedule might not be as potentially rigorous as those games, the chance to play a service academy again has to be attractive to most Oklahoma fans.

I'm curious. Would Oklahoma fans rather play at Yankee Stadium or on the Army campus? Which venue would hold the most appeal for them?

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

Recruiting analyst Bill Kurelic provided some information about a couple of players with interest in Big 12 schools in his most recent notepad.

Oklahoma is still in the hunt for Under Armour All-American defensive back Joshua Shaw of Palmdale, Calif., although he is strongly considering three Big Ten schools.

"I'm a fan of Big Ten football," Shaw told Kurelic, a regular contributor to ESPN.com's Midwest Recruiting Blog. "I like the three power house teams, Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State."

Shaw has scholarship offers from at least two dozen schools. He has narrowed his list down to the three Big Ten schools as well as USC, UCLA, Washington, LSU, Tennessee, Notre Dame and the Sooners. All but the Nittany Lions have offered and Shaw feels that offer will soon be on the way.

Oklahoma hasn't made Shaw's list of visits yet. He is set to visit Ohio State, LSU and Notre Dame during the football season. Shaw, a 6-foot-2, 180-pounder made 40 solo tackles and intercepted four passes during his junior season last year.

"All the schools are even. If I had to make a decision today it would be like picking out of a hat," Shaw said.

And safety/wide receiver Jimmy Hall of Southview High School in Sylvania, Ohio, has included Colorado and Kansas in a field of 16 suitors that also includes schools like West Virginia, Boston College, Northwestern, Indiana, Maryland, Syracuse, Vanderbilt and several Mid-American Conference schools.

"Right now I'm in the process of trying to get it down to a top five," Hall told Kurelic. "I'd like to get it down by the end of the summer. I've visited all the schools that have offered except Colorado, Kansas, Maryland and Vanderbilt."

The 6-foot-2, 192-pound Hall produced 85 tackles and intercepted five passes during his junior season. He also snagged 45 receptions for close to 1,000 yards.

He has made has no timetable in regards to selecting a college, and is leaving open the possibility of taking official visits.

"I'm trying to get a top five, then if I really like a school I could commit," he said. "I'm not sure about [official] visits right now."

Both players could help the Big 12 schools they have targeted, although it sounds like the schools in the conference aren't as highly rated as others from across the country for these prospects.  

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

Monday's announcement that Florida coach Urban Meyer has become the newest member of the exclusive $4 million-a-year club has pushed Bob Stoops down a notch on the list of the nation's highest-paid college football coaches.

The Orlando Sentinel had an interesting series on financing in college sports last week. One of the items they had was a list of salaries of all of the FBS head coaches ranked from 1 through 120.

Monday's announcement boosts Meyer into third place, trailing only USC's Pete Carroll ($4.4 million per year) and Notre Dame's Charlie Weis ($4.2 million per year). Alabama's Nick Saban is fourth at $3.9 million per year, LSU's Les Miles at fifth at $3.8 million and Stoops at sixth with a base contract for the 2009 season of $3.675 million after his most-recent contract extension with the school in June.

And that's not even including the "stay bonus" designed to keep Stoops at Oklahoma. If those are achieved, Stoops' deal will pay him more than $30 million through the end of 2015.

Here's a list of the annual salaries of the Big 12 coaches and where they rank, according to the figures provided by the Sentinel.

6. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma, $3.675 million
9. Mack Brown, Texas, $2.91 million
T12. Gary Pinkel, Missouri, $2.5 million
T16. Mark Mangino, Kansas, $2.3 million
25. Bo Pelini, Nebraska, $1.851 million
T28. Mike Sherman, Texas A&M, $1.8 million
T28. Art Briles, Baylor, $1.8 million
T32. Mike Leach, Texas Tech, $1.75 million
T53. Paul Rhoads, Iowa State, $1.15 million
T55. Dan Hawkins, Colorado, $1.1 million
T55. Bill Snyder, Kansas State, $1.1 million
64. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State, $1.05 million

The list actually has been revised after news surfaced last week that Gundy finally signed his contract that was agreed to last December. Gundy's new deal provides him with a base salary of $1.8 million, the Tulsa World reports. That figure would enable the Oklahoma State coach to crack the top 30 highest-paid coaches in the country.

The Big 12 also has an interesting connection that proves it should be considered among the ultimate "big boy" football conferences across the nation.

Along with the ACC and the SEC, all Big 12 head coaches earn at least $1 million per year.

It's nice work if you can get it.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

If it's a Friday, it must be time to open some e-mails from my mailbag.

Shane Riley from Arapahoe, Neb., writes: I know the Big 12 hasn't jumped on the bandwagon yet, but what is up with college teams wanting to play games in major league baseball stadiums? Why does Army want to play at Yankee Stadium so bad and why are Illinois and Northwestern looking to play at Wrigley Field? And if the Big `12 did jump on the bandwagon what teams would want to play at a Big 12 area baseball venue?

Tim Griffin: Shane, that has been an interesting trend in recent weeks. I've heard through the grapevine that Dodger Stadium would be interested in staging some college games there. Those baseball stadiums are looking for new revenue sources and they are trying to attract college games as another way to fill seats and sell more concessions.

I'm a football traditionalist and the idea of football returning to Yankee Stadium would be cool. I've heard all of the great stories about games there in the 1940s and 1950s. The New York Giants really got their fans turned on when they started playing there.

But even with the "wow factor," I would doubt if any Big 12 teams really would seriously consider any upcoming games in baseball stadiums. And the reason is because in every city with a major league franchise in the Big 12's geographic footprint, there is also a new football stadium with all of the bells and whistles that is significantly bigger than the baseball stadium in the city.

For example, I don't think that any college team would give up the chance for 25,000 extra seats by moving a game from Reliant Stadium in Houston to Minute Maid Park. I certainly don't think that will be the case in Arlington, Texas, where the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium has every accoutrement known to mankind and is much bigger than the nearby baseball stadium. And I don't see it happening in St. Louis, Denver or Kansas City, either.

The football stadiums are simply too big and it would hard to visualize any college giving up a shot for extra tickets to play in a baseball stadium that wasn't constructed to allow football in the first place.

It would be neat to see the new Busch Stadium in St. Louis lined up for a football game, but I'm not expecting it. The chance to play at the Edward Jones Dome at America's Center just provides too many more seats in a climate-controlled setting to boot.

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Willis from Raleigh, N.C., writes: OK, I'm a traditionalist and love the old rivalries that college football has every year. When most conferences started to expand (SEC, Big 8 to Big 12, ACC), they kept the traditional games playing every year (Georgia-Auburn, Tennessee-Alabama, OU-Texas, Florida State-Miami, etc) and other conferences kept their "big" games (Michigan-Ohio State, USC-UCLA, etc). I mean, what is college football without Ohio State playing Michigan every year? That said, what was the Big 12 thinking when it got rid of the Nebraska-Oklahoma game every year? I grew up watching that game in the 70's, 80's, and 90's and it was one of the greatest rivalries in college football. It's a shame that they play each other every four or five years like Bonow.

Tim Griffin: I've heard that the lack of a yearly Oklahoma-Nebraska game bemoaned since the first conference schedules were generated for the Big 12.

The rivalry was a great one, although truth be told, it had slipped a lot in the 1990s in the Big Eight as Nebraska turned the conference into a cakewalk shortly before the Big 12 started.

One way around it could be making that game a designated rivalry game each season, although it would put those Nebraska and Oklahoma at a competitive disadvantage with the rest of the teams in their divisions because they would be facing one of the powers of the other division every season.

I'm betting that Bo Pelini and Bob Stoops wouldn't like that idea nearly as much as some of the traditionalists.  

And actually, the gap between games isn't as bad as you wrote. With the Big 12's sliding schedule, the two old rivals meet twice every four seasons.

I know it's not like the days when Barry Switzer and Tom Osborne were roaming the sidelines, but it's the best we can do for now.

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Jim Perry from Albuquerque, N.M., writes: About Bill Callahan, I liked a lot of things about his offense. It was one of the few that sent Michigan wondering what happened. Callahan had a lot of answers but still needed a hard-nosed defense. I liked that he had class when it came to dealing with unruly players. I still think Callahan could still do it at the collegiate level and I wish him the best.

Tim Griffin: I also wonder about some of the contentiousness that some hard-core Nebraska fans hold for the Callahan era. Sure, he tried to dismantle a lot of the tradition on which that storied program is steeped. But at the same time, he helped the Cornhuskers win a Big 12 North title as recently as 2006.

If Callahan had played more to the Nebraska tradition, it definitely would have helped him out -- along with maybe a choice of a different defensive coordinator than Kevin Cosgrove. If Callahan had embraced the image of Nebraska and played to it like Mack Brown did at Texas or Bob Stoops at Oklahoma, it might have helped him weather some of the storms that he eventually faced. Not all of them, but it might have bought him an extra season or two.

I think the majority of Cornhusker fans are more excited about the future now than they've been since early in the Frank Solich era. And it should only get brighter as Pelini starts getting better players.

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Charles Seibert of Albuquerque, N.M. writes: A couple of weeks ago you had an e-mail in the mailbag basically saying "Mack Brown only has one conference championship? What do Longhorns fans see in him?" Your answer focused on Stoops' domination in that department. Here's the rest of the answer.

The Longhorn fans would love to have more Big 12 crowns, but we judge UT's football program on many criteria. The 'Horns under Mack have a national championship, a stellar win-loss record (having passed Nebraska, Ohio State and Notre Dame among others on the all-time lists), regular finishes in the top five and top 10 (and ahead of the hated Sooners), near-automatic bowl wins (including 3-0 in BCS bowls) and solid records against their traditional rivals. With all of that, who wouldn't be proud to have Mack Brown coaching their team?

Tim Griffin: Charles, I agree with you. Mack Brown has the Texas program going as well as any in the country. And like you listed, he has many accomplishments and has his program pointed to claim a few more before he hangs up his whistle.

But with all of those facts in place, Stoops still has claimed six Big 12 titles and Brown has one. I hear from Texas fans all the time about their three victories in the last four seasons over the Sooners, but they also privately grumble they are disappointed that the Longhorns still have made only one trip to the Big 12 title game during that span compared to three for the Sooners. 

That shows the strength of the South Division and the struggles that winning a division championship provides in each season. And for all of the accomplishments you listed, I still bet Mack Brown wishes he had more than one Big 12 title to show for it.

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Steve Rodriguez of Sisson, Texas, writes: Tim, in reading your blog on a daily basis, I love your numbers and charts you come up with. I know of no other place I can find to get that kind of information with your spin on it. I wish you would share a weekly stat or tidbit in your mailbag or perhaps as a regular post that delv
es deeply into the numbers in the conference.

Tim Griffin: Steve, sounds like a great idea. And here's my tidbit for today. Or maybe I can "borrow" a term from the Tim Horton doughnut shops in Canada - thanks to my old CFL coverage I know about them - and provide a weekly "Timbit."

How about this one? During the course of the 13-season history of the Big 12 Conference, Bob Stoops has claimed six championship game victories. The most amazing fact is that no other coach has claimed more than one Big 12 title during that span. 

Here's a list of coaches and their titles

Bob Stoops -- 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008
John Mackovic -- 1996
Tom Osborne -- 1997
R.C. Slocum -- 1998
Frank Solich -- 1999
Gary Barnett -- 2001
Bill Snyder -- 2003
Mack Brown -- 2005

That list speaks about as well to Stoops' domination of the Big 12 as any I could find.

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Wally Gonzales of San Antonio writes: Hey Tim, I was wondering if you had any information on the new linebacker group at KU. I am interested in Justin Springer, who is from my hometown of Los Fresnos, Texas. Also when Kansas plays UTEP, it will be the first time that Springer will play against his twin brother, Jeremy. It also gets even more interesting when Justin goes up against his best friend Eloy Atkinson who is also from Los Fresnos and is the center for UTEP. I'd love to hear some inside information about this game.

Tim Griffin: Wally, Justin Springer has a chance to step up at linebacker, which appears to be the biggest weakness for the Jayhawks coming into the season. But Springer was hobbled by a knee injury that he sustained last season against Kansas State that caused him to miss the Jayhawks' final four games last season.

Springer has prototypical size for football of the 1990s when you consider he's 6-foot-4 and 242 pounds. But Coach Mark Mangino has placed a premium on speed with his defense and will want his linebackers to move well in space. That has to be a concern for Springer, considering he's coming off knee surgery.

Mangino also has hinted he plans to go to a 4-2-5 defense this season as his base. And he mentioned earlier this week that Arist Wright and Angus Quigley have really looked good so far in spring practices.

Springer wasn't able to practice during the spring, but Mangino has said he expects him to be ready for preseason camp. His recovery will be one of the interesting stories to follow next month for the Jayhawks.

And I think the UTEP game might be more difficult for the Jayhawks then some might expect. If they can't get much pass rush against underrated UTEP quarterback Trevor Vittatoe, it might be a long evening in the Sun Bowl for the Jayhawks. Along with the potential matchup between the Springer brothers from Los Fresnos.

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Chris Leonard from Minneapolis, Minn., writes: Tim, I read your summary of the Sporting News' all-time top coaches list. I was glad to see Tom Osborne on there, but 34th? And ninth among the college football coaches mentioned? I couldn't believe it.

Some writers have said that he didn't belong among the top 10 college head coaches and others have written that he wasn't a sexy enough coach to put on a top-10 list because of his perceived lack of flamboyance and personality.

What's with all the disrespect for the guy with the second-highest winning percentage in the modern era of college football? No one's ever reached 250 wins faster!

Tim Griffin: I agree with you that Tom Osborne was one of the greatest coaches in football history. He might not have been as verbose as Bobby Bowden or have the longevity of Joe Paterno, but his teams were always ready and he did a great job at making Nebraska a consistent national power.

I think the most significant facts about Osborne are that he won a share of the national championship three times in his final four seasons of coaching and nearly had another one in the previous season. And he finished the final five seasons of his career with a 60-3 record. Those are flashy numbers, in anybody's book.

Thanks for all of the good questions and I'll be checking in again next week.

Have a good weekend.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

Welcome.

Here are today's Big 12 links. Enjoy them. 

• Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione tells the Tulsa World's Dave Sittler that he still believes the Sooners will meet Notre Dame in a two-game series in 2012 and 2013.
• The Williams and Hyatt Show Blog lists a few things we won't hear at the Big 12 media gathering next week in Arlington, Texas.
• Austin American-Statesman columnist Kirk Bohls isn't buying Texas freshman running back Chris Whaley's nickname of "Zeus" -- yet.
• USA Today's Steve Wieberg details Bill Snyder's plans for returning the Kansas State program back to the level he once had it.
• Lane Johnson, a 6-foot-6, 250-pound high school quarterback-turned-tight end, has joined Oklahoma's program after playing at Kilgore College last season, the Tulsa World's Guerin Emig reports.
• The Topeka Capital-Journal's Tully Corcoran writes that Heisman hype for quarterback Todd Reesing would be completely out of character for the Kansas football program.
• Paul Myerburg of the New York Times' blog The Quad ranks Missouri No. 53 in his national preseason poll.
• Mike Sherman's understated dry wit is highlighted by Brent Zwerneman of the Houston Chronicle/San Antonio Express-News. 
• Kansas running back Jake Sharp tells the Lawrence Journal-World's Jesse Newell that he always has been motivated by having something to prove to his critics.
• Athlon Sports.com looks at what happened to the top 10 recruits in the 2004 recruiting class -- including No. 1 Adrian Peterson and No. 2 Rhett Bomar.
• Kansas City Star Big 12 reporter Blair Kerkhoff predicts a Kansas-Texas championship game in the conference this season.
• Nebraska officials hope to add to the game-day experience at Memorial Stadium with two new replay boards and two ribbon boards that will stretch longer than a football field, the Lincoln Journal-Star's Brian Christopherson reports.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

The number crunchers at Docsports.com have come up with the common statistical traits that the BCS national championship winners have shared.

1. Be a member of a "Big Six" conference or Notre Dame:

Teams still fitting the profile: 67.

2. Have at least eight wins in the previous season. Of the 11 BCS title winners nine teams (and the past six consecutive) have had at least eight wins the season prior to winning the championship. All have had at least seven.

Teams still fitting the profile: 37

3. Have a winning regular-season record in November-December games in the previous season. Winning games late in the season usually ensures a strong finish. Only LSU in 2002 -- with a 2-2 record in November and December -- claimed a BCS national championship without a winning record in those two months in the year before.

Teams still fitting the profile: 25.

Among those still standing are: Alabama (4-0), Boston College (4-1), California (3-2), Cincinnati (5-0), Florida (5-0), Georgia Tech (3-1), Iowa (3-1), Michigan State (3-1), Mississippi (4-0), Missouri (3-1), Nebraska (3-1), Northwestern (3-1), Ohio State (3-0), Oklahoma (4-0), Oregon (3-1), Oregon State (4-1), Penn State (3-1), Pittsburgh (4-1), Rutgers (4-0), Texas (3-1), Texas Tech (3-1), USC (5-0), Wake Forest (3-2), West Virginia (3-2) and Virginia Tech (3-1).

4. Have a junior or senior quarterback with some playing experience. All 11 teams that have won BCS national titles have had a junior or senior playing. All but Tee Martin of Tennessee had starting experience entering the season.

Teams still fitting the profile: 17.

Among those still alive are: California (Kevin Riley), Cincinnati (Tony Pike), Florida (Tim Tebow), Georgia Tech (Josh Nesbitt), Iowa (Richard Stanzi), Mississippi (Jevan Snead), Northwestern (Mike Kafka), Oklahoma (Sam Bradford), Oregon (Jeremiah Masoli), Oregon State (Lyle Moevao), Penn State (Daryll Clark), Pittsburgh (Bill Stull), Texas (Colt McCoy), USC (Mitch Mustain), Wake Forest (Riley Skinner), West Virginia (Jarrett Brown) and Virginia Tech (Tyrod Taylor).

5. Have six returning defensive starters from a unit that ranked in the top 20 in scoring defense in the previous season. Eight of the past nine teams to have won the BCS title have had a defense in the nation's top 20 in scoring defense the previous season (Florida was 46th in 2007) and all but one team (1998 Tennessee) returned at least six starters from their previous season's defense.

Teams still fitting the profile: 6.

Those teams that are eligible include Florida (fourth in scoring defense, 11 returning starters), Iowa (fifth in scoring defense, eight returning starters), Mississippi (20th in scoring defense, eight starters), Texas (18th in scoring defense, seven starters), West Virginia (11th in scoring defense, eight starters) and Virginia Tech (ninth in scoring defense, seven starters).

The formula has been accurate over the years. Of the seven teams that fit the profile coming into last season -- Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Rutgers, USC, and Wake Forest -- all won at least eight games and Florida won the national championship. The team the Gators beat for the national title, Oklahoma, was not included among those on the list.

So keep these trends in mind this season. It might be the reason why we end up seeing Texas and Florida playing for the national championship, if not Iowa, Mississippi, West Virginia or Virginia Tech at the Rose Bowl.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

Nebraska will celebrate its 300th consecutive sellout on Sept. 26 by paying homage to the 47-year-long sellout streak.

When the Cornhuskers host Louisiana-Lafayette on that date, the Cornhuskers will wear throwback uniforms to match what the team wore in 1962. Those commemorative uniforms will later be auctioned off in a full set of pants, jerseys and helmets beginning the first week of practice and continuing through Oct. 4. Replica jerseys and helmets also will be sold by the school.

The sellout streak is one of the most unique records in NCAA history. And times have changed since it began for the Cornhuskers against Missouri on Nov. 3, 1962.

Back in those days, Memorial Stadium seated 31,080 -- a little more than a third of the stadium's current capacity of 81,067. 

The streak, currently at 297 games, began during the first season of legendary coach Bob Devaney's tenure at the school.  

Devaney's children and grandchildren have been invited back for the festivities of the 300th sellout.

"We want to thank Bob Devaney and his family for getting it all started back in 1962," Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne said. "In addition, we especially thank the fans who have been so supportive over the past 47 years."

It's interesting to note that Notre Dame is second on the consecutive sellout streak at 205, which is 92 behind the Cornhuskers' total.

Other plans include the Nebraska athletic department designing commemorative ticket stubs and game programs to look like they used to back in 1962.

All in all, it will be a neat way to pay homage to this most unique streak.

But I'm hoping the school won't mess with all of its traditions to pay tributes to the streak.

After all, it wouldn't be Nebraska football if the team took the field to The Crystals' "He's a  Rebel," the chart-topping hit that was No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 on the date when the streak began.

I still prefer "Sirius" for the Tunnel Walk, and I bet most Nebraska fans do, too.