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Another spring has come and gone in the Big 12. In this league, it's a long one. Texas Tech kicked things off on February 17, just two weeks after signing day.

Kansas and Kansas State didn't wrap it up until spring games on April 28.

Through it all, we learned a lot. Here's a taste.

Texas is inching much closer to contention: The offense? Well, it's still a work in progress, though David Ash showed some solid progression during the spring. But the defense? It's leading the way for the Longhorns' road back from the 5-7 implosion in 2010. Quandre Diggs and Carrington Byndom might just be the two best cornerbacks in the Big 12, and Alex Okafor and Jackson Jeffcoat are probably the two best defensive ends. Great coverage and a great pass-rush? Sounds like a good start to slowing down Big 12 offenses. Add in junior college man-child Brandon Moore, and solid linebacker play with Jordan Hicks, Demarco Cobbs and Steve Edmond, and the Longhorns have a unit that can help them get back into title contention.

Only one team doesn't know who its quarterback will be: Baylor hardly had a competition to replace RG3. Kansas replaced Jordan Webb with transfer Dayne Crist. Oklahoma State pulled the trigger on a youngster. Texas hasn't officially named him, but Ash has all but sewn up the job in Austin. That leaves Iowa State, which has sophomore Jared Barnett and senior Steele Jantz competing for the job for a second consecutive fall. Anything could happen there.

Mike Gundy has guts: Oklahoma State said goodbye to a mature, big-armed passer in Brandon Weeden, who won 23 games in two seasons. However, the reigning Big 12 champion again will have a big arm at quarterback. Gundy made the league's gutsiest move this spring, handing the reins to 18-year-old Wes Lunt from Illinois. He's one of just six players in the Big 12 from Illinois, and he's a decade younger than Weeden. Robert Griffin III was the league's last true freshman to start a majority of games, but Lunt might be the first to win the job in the spring.

There's a new sherriff in town: The Big 12 knew Chuck Neinas was a quick fix at the commissioner spot, but the league made a quick move in pegging Stanford AD Bob Bowlsby as the new commissioner to replace Dan Beebe, who was fired in September. The Big 12 is likely to cash in on a nice TV deal shortly after Bowlsby takes over, but he'll have to help reconnect a league that must work through some possibly divisive issues like expansion in the near future. He'll also need to manage the relationship between Texas, who he referred to as an "800-pound gorilla," and the rest of its Big 12 brethren. The relationship sounds good now, but over time, issues could arise.

Charlie Weis is making sure KU looks nothing like its 2011 team: Kansas has undergone the biggest change of any team in the Big 12 this offseason. New coach Weis saw a lot of problems at KU, and went about fixing them quickly. He welcomed six Division I transfers, including three from Notre Dame, which included his new quarterback, Crist. He also saw gaping holes along the defensive line and tried to fill them with junior college players and high schoolers who will be challenging for playing time in the fall. Kansas will look a lot different, but will it be better?

Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby has accepted the Big 12 Conference commissioner job, with the announcement to be made Friday in Dallas, a source told ESPN.com's Andy Katz.

Bowlsby replaces Dan Beebe, who was fired in September 2011 as the Big 12 seemed on the brink of falling apart, with Oklahoma, Texas and others flirting with the Pac-12.

Chuck Neinas has been serving as the interim commissioner.

Bowlsby has told his staff he will remain with the Cardinal until June, according to The Associated Press.

For more on this story from Andy Katz, go here.

The Big 12 is closing in on its permanent replacement for former commissioner Dan Beebe.

The conference has offered its commissioner's job to Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby, multiple conference and industry sources told ESPN.com Wednesday night. Bowlsby is expected to accept the offer, sources said.

Bowlsby was in Phoenix the past few days as the Big 12 and Pac 12 meetings overlapped. Bowlsby has a strong relationship with Pac 12 commissioner Larry Scott. Bowlsby was on the search committee that discovered Scott, with the aid of search firm executive Jed Hughes who has handled both searches for the Big 12 and Pac 12 commissioner's jobs. Hughes was at a different firm for the Pac 12 search firm than he is for the Big 12 search.

Bowlsby has been highly respected by his Pac 12 colleagues, and sources said he had a strong endorsement from Scott.

The Big 12 fired Dan Beebe as its commissioner last fall and replaced him with temporary replacement Chuck Neinas. He helped guide the Big 12 through the loss of Missouri and Texas A&M, as well as inviting TCU and West Virginia to join and give the league 10 members.

Bowlsby was Iowa's athletic director from 1991-2006 before taking over at Stanford.

For more on the story from Andy Katz, go here.

Prepare your resumes: The search is on for the next commissioner of the Big 12.

The league's board of directors will meet Thursday, and it will consider a search committee to replace acting commissioner Chuck Neinas, Big 12 spokesman Bob Burda told the Dallas Morning News.

Neinas took over for Dan Beebe in September in an interim role, repeatedly stating he had no interest in replacing Beebe on a full-time basis.

Texas A&M and Missouri both left the league during Neinas' tenure, and the Big 12 officially announced the additions of TCU and West Virginia in October.

All 10 of the Big 12 members have granted the league their media rights for six years. Here's more on what that move, designed to bring stability, means.

As quickly as it arrived, the Big 12 season is gone.

Alas, here's a look at the 10 moments we'll remember most from the 2011 season. These aren't necessarily the best or worst moments, but simply that: memorable. When we look back on 2011, this is what will stick out.

1. Heisman moment? Take your pick. There were plenty of them in Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III's run to an "unbelievably believable" Heisman win. What about his only reception of the season (that resulted in him getting the wind knocked out of him) on a dramatic final drive to beat TCU in the opener? What about a 21-point comeback in the fourth quarter of an overtime win over Kansas? The best on-field moment was probably his 39-yard TD pass to Terrance Williams in the final seconds to beat Oklahoma for the first time and thrust himself back into the Heisman race, despite three losses. And after beating Texas: "I think Baylor just won its first Heisman tonight," he said. Yep. It did.

2. Iowa State storms the field ... and bowl season. Oklahoma State looked headed for a showdown with Oklahoma to play for a national title, but Iowa State had other things in mind. Jared Barnett topped 375 yards passing and 75 yards rushing in just his third start to give the Cyclones a win over a top six team for the first time in 58 tries. It set off a party on the field at Jack Trice Stadium and put ISU into its second bowl in three years.

3. Texas A&M and Missouri say adios, muchachos. The Aggies had enough of Texas and wanted some of Alabama. Missouri had enough drama and wanted some stability. Texas A&M made it official in late September and Mizzou followed in early November. Texas A&M called it a "100-year decision."

4. The Big 12 says hello to two new friends. With Texas A&M and Missouri gone, expansion was the obvious necessary step. The Big 12 took it by welcoming Southwest Conference expatriate TCU home into the Big 12 on Oct. 11. And 17 days later, West Virginia followed, announcing its plans to help expand the Big 12's footprint wayyy, wayyy east.

5. The Aggies sound like a broken record. Shattered record, maybe. Texas A&M started as a Big 12 title contender with a top-10 ranking. It led 12 games by double digits. It lost six games. How'd it happen? Nobody knew, and as a result, coach Mike Sherman was fired. Over and over, it was the same story. The 20-3 and 35-17 halftime leads over Oklahoma State and Arkansas evaporated. The Aggies blew big leads over Missouri, Kansas State and Texas, too.

6. Oklahoma State finds new life ... twice. Most were resigned to Alabama and LSU meeting again for the title, but OSU made it interesting with a satisfying 44-10 embarrassment of Oklahoma, putting late pressure on voters and finishing behind Alabama by the slimmest margin in BCS history. And once OSU was in its bowl game, Stanford's Jordan Williamson yanked a 35-yard kick to send the game into overtime, where the Cowboys capitalized in a 41-38 win.

7. Texas grabs Lone Star Showdown bragging rights for...ever? The Longhorns were the underdogs in a veritable powder keg that was Kyle Field on Thanksgiving night. Then Colt, er, Case McCoy got loose for a 25-yard scramble that set up Justin Tucker's game-winning 40-yard field goal that gave Texas bragging rights in the now-defunct rivalry for as long as it would like. The Longhorns say they have no plans to continue the rivalry after the Aggies leave for the SEC.

8. The Little Apple hosts a classic. You never know when the longest game in Big 12 history is going to show up. Kansas State and Texas A&M played it. The Aggies led by 10 midway through the fourth quarter, but Collin Klein rallied the Wildcats and got the 53-50 win on — what else — a QB sneak for a game-winning touchdown.

9. Texas Tech ends Oklahoma's epic streak. The night began with ominous thunderstorms that delayed the game, but the Sooners struggled against Texas Tech's slip screens, and let Alex Torres go wild for three touchdown catches. The four-touchdown underdogs walked into Owen Field and became the second Big 12 team to ever beat Bob Stoops on his home field, and first since 2001. The Red Raiders also became the first team since 2005 to win there, ending the Sooners' 39-game home winning streak. The problem: Tech didn't win another game the rest of the season, and finished with the first losing season since 1992.

10. Dan Beebe gets the ax. The damage was done. Beebe was seen as someone who ceded to Texas at all costs, even if he did it as a last option to keep the Big 12 together in the summer of 2010. That hurt the league, and Oklahoma called for Beebe to be removed. He was, and replaced by interim commissioner Chuck Neinas, who had helped many of the league's ADs hire coaches. A permanent replacement still hasn't been named.

Honorable mention: OSU FB Kye Staley and Texas TE Blaine Irby score touchdowns in emotional returns from catastrophic knee injuries, K-State runs out of time in a near upset over Oklahoma State (and an earthquake followed), Kansas State becomes the first team to intercept RG3 and stays undefeated in an "upset" of Baylor, RG3 has his version of the "Immaculate Reception"; Missouri QB James Franklin goes beast mode on a 20-yard touchdown run in a win over Texas A&M; Missouri coach Gary Pinkel "ices" his own kicker in a loss to Arizona State; Kansas reaches a new low and trails Oklahoma State 56-7 at halftime; Ryan Broyles' career meets an unfair end with a torn ACL.

An report in The Oklahoman says if the University of Oklahoma is to remain in the Big 12, it will do so only if the conference adds regulations on the Longhorn Network and removes commissioner Dan Beebe.

To do the latter, Big 12 bylaws require a majority vote of the league's board of directors.

"It's going to take major, major reforms," the source told the Oklahoman. "We'd have to have an interim commissioner."

Big 12 members were angered by the network's agreement with Fox Sports to move a conference game to the Longhorn Network and its decision to show high school highlights after the Big 12 voted to keep televised high school games off school-branded networks.

The source told the Oklahoman that a move by Oklahoma and Oklahoma State to the Pac-12 wasn't inevitable.

Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe has been the target of criticism throughout the past year, but was given a three-year contract extension through 2015 in November of 2010 after the Big 12 held together.

In 2009, Beebe was also given a raise from $661,000 to $997,000.

The University of Oklahoma's board of regents and its counterpart at Texas granted their school presidents Monday the authority to take action regarding conference realignment.

The moves clear the way for the Sooners and Longhorns to apply formally to the Pac-12, with whom they have been undergoing discussions in recent days on how to make the schools' addition to the conference work.

After the regents meeting had adjourned, Boren admitted he's had "very warm and constructive discussions" with Pac-12 officials, but wouldn't say when the Sooners might apply for conference membership.

We mentioned it on the blog earlier Wednesday, but Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe confirmed it in a statement this afternoon: He says his letter to the SEC on Sept. 2 did not waive legal claims from individual institutions.

Beebe's full statement:

"This is the first time to my knowledge that a conference has been requested to waive any legal claims toward another conference for any damages suffered with a membership change. The Big 12 Conference was asked by Texas A&M University and the Southeastern Conference to waive any such claim to help facilitate Texas A&M’s departure from the Conference without any consideration to the Big 12. Although they were not obligated to do so, the Big 12 Board of Directors decided to accommodate that request as it relates to The Big 12 Conference, Inc., which is reflected in the September 2 letter sent to SEC commissioner Mike Slive. However, the waiver did not and could not bind the individual member institutions’ governing boards to waive institutional rights. If the departure of Texas A&M results in significant changes in the Big 12 membership, several institutions may be severely affected after counting on revenue streams from contracts that were approved unanimously by our members, including Texas A&M. In some cases, members reasonably relied on such approval to embark on obligations that will cost millions of dollars."

This situation is already messy. It sounds like it could get messier.

In a letter from Sept. 2 made public Wednesday, Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe said the Big 12 "and its members" were waiving legal action toward Texas A&M and the SEC.

The SEC accepted Texas A&M in a vote on Tuesday night on the condition that the Big 12 schools waived legal action toward Texas A&M and the SEC, but Beebe later said in a statement that his letter "did not and could not bind the individual member institutions’ governing boards to waive institutional rights."

In a Sept. 6 email to Slive, obtained by The Associated Press, Beebe writes: "If you seek waivers by the individual institutions, you must receive them from those institutions directly. I regret any confusion on this issue."

Which led to Wednesday's drama, in which Baylor, Iowa State and Kansas refused to waive legal rights. Reports surfaced that other schools would do the same, but have been unconfirmed.

"I felt that was really a violation of trust right there," A&M president R. Bowen Loftin told the AP in an interview. "We took this letter very seriously. We asked for such a statement. They gave it to us freely. It says here unanimous vote was taken and yet when we look at Beebe's letter last night it says: 'No we didn't really mean that,' and I find that to be rather difficult to digest."

For now, A&M's move to the SEC appears imminent, but the legal action has held it up. The Aggies, as one might guess, are not pleased.

"We are being held hostage right now," Loftin said of being forced to stay in the Big 12. "Essentially, we're being told that you must stay here against your will and we think that really flies in the face of what makes us Americans for example and makes us free people."

We seemed so close to hearing the announcement of a new school in the SEC.

But things are on hold ... again.

On Tuesday, the SEC presidents voted and unanimously accepted Texas A&M's application to become the conference's 13th team, according to a release by the SEC.

All finally seemed right in the SEC world until one Big 12 school decided to take last-minute action.

"After receiving unanimous written assurance from the Big 12 on September 2 that the Southeastern Conference was free to accept Texas A&M to join as a new member, the presidents and chancellors of the SEC met last night with the intention of accepting the application of Texas A&M to be the newest member of the SEC," University of Florida president and SEC chairman Dr. Bernie Machen said in a statement released Wednesday. "We were notified yesterday afternoon that at least one Big 12 institution had withdrawn its previous consent and was considering legal action. The SEC has stated that to consider an institution for membership, there must be no contractual hindrances to its departure. The SEC voted unanimously to accept Texas A&M University as a member upon receiving acceptable reconfirmation that the Big 12 and its members have reaffirmed the letter dated September 2, 2011."

The SEC wants to make sure it isn't sued by any Big 12 school for accepting Texas A&M, but sources told ESPN's Joe Schad that Baylor hasn't given the league that assurance.

That's interesting because in that letter to SEC commissioner Mike Slive from Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe on Sept. 2, Beebe made it clear that no legal action about be taken against the SEC.

Here is the intro to that letter:

"This is to confirm our discussion yesterday during which I informed you that the Big 12 Conference Board of Directors unanimously authorized me to convey to you and their colleagues in the Southeastern Conference that the Big 12 and its members will not take any legal action for any possible claims against the SEC or its members relating to the departure of Texas A&M University from the Big 12 and the admission of Texas A&M into the SEC; provided, however, that such act by the SEC to admit Texas A&M is publicly confirmed by 5:00 p.m. (CDT) on September 8, 2011."

Regardless, Baylor seems to be the hold up for the SEC at this moment, but if my memory serves me, the Big East sued Miami, Boston College and the ACC after those schools decided to jump the ACC.

Guess where those schools, including Virginia Tech, are? Yep, the ACC.

Texas A&M announced its intention to explore its options regarding conference affiliation on Thursday.

That was followed by the school's athletic director, Bill Byrne, stating that he'd support the Aggies intention to do so.

Now, Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe has responded, confirming reports that the Big 12 is set on expansion should the Aggies leave, but reiterating the league's "strong desire" that the Aggies stay.

"The letter received today from Texas A&M president R. Bowen Loftin will be addressed by the Big 12 Conference Board of Directors," he said. "It remains our strong desire for Texas A&M to continue as a member of the Big 12 and we are working toward that end. However, if it is decided otherwise, the Conference is poised to move aggressively with options."

The league's board of directors is set to meet on Saturday.

Texas A&M has moved its intentions to the light from the closed doors of meeting rooms.

The university announced that it notified the Big 12 of its intention to explore its options pertaining to conference affiliation.

"As I have indicated previously, we are working very deliberately to act in the best long-term interests of both Texas A&M and the State of Texas. This truly is a 100-year decision,” Texas A&M president R. Bowen Loftin said in a release. "While we understand the desire of all parties to quickly reach a resolution, these are extremely complex issues that we are addressing methodically."

The university made its intentions known in a letter delivered to Dan Beebe on Thursday, according to SI.com.

This would be consistent with the manner in which Nebraska withdrew from the conference last year.

Texas A&M also made it clear that it will support the Big 12's efforts to expand with a new member should the Aggies leave.

Unlike Nebraska's move, however, Texas A&M's next move may leave the university in limbo for a bit longer.



When Nebraska announced its formal intention to withdraw from the Big 12, it was accepted to the Big Ten just hours later.

Texas A&M has yet to formally withdraw from the Big 12, but may have an opportunity to do so when the Big 12's board of directors meets on Saturday.

In its letter, Texas A&M formally asked the Big 12 that it would "appreciate your conferring with the other member institutions and outlining for us the process to be followed by Texas A&M should it withdraw from the Conference."

Strong words, especially that big "W" one toward the end.

Nothing's official yet, but it would seem Texas A&M has made up its mind about its future. Common sense would indicate that it wouldn't send a release like this if it didn't have at least some assurance on the SEC's behalf that the feeling was mutual.

For now, though, we'll have to wait for anything to be official and in writing.

Well, well, well.

Here we are again. A little more than a year after losing one of the Big 12's best programs and its fanbase, the stakes for the conference look much the same.

Texas governor Rick Perry, a Texas A&M alum, says he understands that Texas A&M and the SEC are talking. Perry's the first public figure to acknowledge what had been rumored for weeks, if not longer.

The Big 12's future, as A&M president R. Bowen Loftin stated last month, is uncertain.

But make no mistake, the Big 12 needs Texas A&M for the same reason the SEC wants it.

Good football, great fans (and a lot of them), and lots of intrigue. The Aggies are a cultural fit in both leagues, but A&M brings plenty of possible dollars to the SEC, as well as a possible foothold for SEC teams recruiting in Texas.

The 10-team Big 12 is viable on the field. With a national championship contender entering the 2011 season tailed by four more Top 25 teams, the league will still be strong. It can make a reasonable case for college football's second best league, even after losing Big 12 North champion Nebraska and Colorado.

But without A&M? I won't hedge a guess at what Texas, Oklahoma or others would do without the Aggies, but two options remain, should Texas A&M's "conversations" progress to membership in the SEC.

The first is what's left of the Big 12 remains together -- but should it? It would be a league stripped of two of its top four programs and its two best fan bases in less than 18 months. Big 12 sources told the Dallas Morning News that the league would eliminate a ninth conference game and move on as a nine-team league if Texas A&M left for the SEC.

An arrangement like that won't exactly command respect on a national scale, even as the remaining nine teams cash bigger checks left behind by A&M's share of a gargantuan television deal and exit fees.

The Big 12 bylaws, by the way, have not changed since Nebraska and Colorado's exit. The withdrawal fees would still be the same.

The conference withholds 50 percent of the conference revenue if a team gives at least two years notice before it ends its conference membership. The shorter the notice is, the greater the amount of revenue that is withheld. If less than a year's notice is given, but more than six months, teams have 90 percent withheld. If less than six months' notice is given, a program has 100 percent of its revenue withheld.

The second option? Schools like Texas, Oklahoma (perhaps OSU as well, depending on how the state legislature feels) will almost surely find comfy landing places elsewhere. Others like Missouri or Texas Tech may be fortunate to do the same. The rest may hold the Big 12 together with new members, or scatter to leagues like the Big East, a scenario all too familiar for programs that faced a similar future last summer.

"Oh, you know, just another easy summer," Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe told ESPN.com in a recent interview. "I need a summer where I can be bored for once."

Murmurs have grown louder in recent weeks, and Beebe is forced to face a scenario similar to the one he dealt with last summer. Beebe worked behind the scenes to secure money (and, by default, stability) for those that remained in the Big 12, and now, he'd better be on his way to College Station (or already there) to try and exercise his powers of persuasion over an administration facing the crush of a fan base dying to head east.

Beebe told the Austin American-Statesman on Wednesday night that the Big 12 is taking the threat of an Aggies move east "very seriously."

"I’ve been talking to a number of people. Obviously, there are a significant number of Aggie supporters who are interested in going in that (SEC) direction," Beebe said.

He added that a move away from geographic proximity and rivalries can "create a lot of problems," adding that he felt the Big 12's athletic directors were comfortable with the new Big 12 following a meeting in Dallas last Monday.

Now, though, he'll have to use whatever means, and whatever it takes, just as he did last year. The Big 12 is at stake.

If he can't?

Well, the Big 12 just won't be quite as much fun anymore, if it exists at all.

The Aggies are loud. The Huskers were louder. The Big 12 survived -- both in existence and on-field perception -- the loss of one. It can't sustain a second and still be one of the nation's best and most vibrant conferences.

Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe joined Ian Fitzsimmons and Matt Mosley on Galloway & Company to talk about moving ahead with a 10-team conference.



On the benefits of a smaller conference:

"There's a lot of excitement and enthusiasm for what we have now which is different from our peer conferences, with a 10-member round-robin opportunity in football and double round robin in basketball and other sports."

On those who doubt the Big 12 can survive:

"I understand we're not going to get the benefit of the doubt for a while until we go through a time period where we demonstrate that what we said we meant: We're together and we're going to go forward together."

Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe took some time out last week to indulge the media blitz surrounding the one-year anniversary of his conference's near death and answer questions about its recent cash-fueled revival from a number of media entities.

One of those interviews was with ESPN Radio in Austin, Texas. He offered some candid thoughts on Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne when asked about the three programs (Colorado, Nebraska, Missouri) that looked like they had wandering eyes last summer.

"On the Nebraska point, they never really liked, or at least Tom Osborne never really liked the Big 12, I don't think." he said.

After doing that interview, I asked him to expound on the comments, which were more frank than anything I'd heard him say about Nebraska since I took over this blog back in 1981.

"That probably was a little stronger than I should have said it," Beebe said. "I think Tom has a high, high level of respect for the Big 12 and its institutions."

Even still, Beebe said Osborne wasn't a fan of several Big 12 decisions from the moment he took over as athletic director in 2007.

"From the day that I sat down with him when he became the athletic director, he expressed strong concern about a lot of the things that happened when the Big 12 was formed, even though it was 13 or 14 or 15 years previous," Beebe said.

Among those concerns, the gravitational pull of the state of Texas for the Big 12, which moved its offices to Dallas when it merged with four members of the Southwest Conference. He also cited the prohibition of players categorized as partial qualifiers being admitted to Big 12 programs, which Osborne commonly signed to his program, as did others.

Just before Nebraska and Colorado announced their exits, the Big 12 Championship announced plans to remain in Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas for three additional years.

During the realignment fracas of last summer, Osborne repeatedly stated that league offices and championship game locations weren't enough to warrant a change of conference, but instead, the uncertainty surrounding the Big 12 and stability in the Big Ten, along with a bigger paycheck, pushed the Huskers to make the decision.

However, one of the big differences from the Big Ten and Big 12 is the way it shares conference revenue. In the Big 12, teams that are on television more earn more than those that aren't. In the Big Ten, revenue is shared equally.

"What’s interesting though, and maybe even a little bit curious to me is that Texas and Nebraska were aligned almost exactly on every issue, including the revenue distribution piece and putting all the rights into the conference. So it’s kind of interesting when I read about comments about Nebraska now being pleased about being in a conference where they put all their rights in and divide money equally," Beebe said.

"That’s the exact opposite position that they took for years in this conference."

The Big 12 hasn't made an official announcement on its complete schedule, but don't expect any big changes, conference commissioner Dan Beebe told ESPN.com in a recent interview.

"We’ve pretty well set it this year," he said. "Some of [the changes could be] related to nonconference, like Texas A&M and SMU playing on Sunday."

Even still, those might not change.

"That’s always subject to our schools, television wanting to expose more games and put them in certain locations, and whether schools really feel like the national exposure is worth it," Beebe said. "Some aren’t going to be willing to move games off of Saturdays."

In short, the bigger programs' schedules are likely set. Texas A&M and Oklahoma have already made official announcements about their schedules, as have others around the Big 12.

Oklahoma State has already shown it is willing to move games, and others could follow. The Cowboys' Friday night date against Louisiana-Lafayette last season (and another Friday nighter against Iowa State this season) is a good example of a game that wouldn't have been on TV without the move. For now, it's up to schools to decide if they'll move any other games in limbo.

"I think that’s going to be a continual discussion, but I think we’re pretty well set for this year," Beebe said.

So what's that mean for you?

You can probably make those travel plans for most games, and get ready for more schedule analysis right here. Here's what you've missed so far.