On Friday morning, the Big 12 Conference revealed that the revived conference championship game for football will feature the top two teams in the conference standings.
“There are a number of advantages to matching our top two teams,” said commissioner Bob Bowlsby. “Given our round-robin, nine-game scheduling model, it is expected the Big 12 champion will be uniquely positioned for College Football Playoff consideration. I would argue there will be no path more difficult than our champion’s, where it will have played every team in the Conference, faced at least one Autonomy Conference non-conference opponent, and then plays in our championship game. The guaranteed No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup will be a great game for our fans, and it’s hard to imagine a stronger position for a conference champion.”
The news comes after the conference decided against expanding back to 12 schools, which would have afforded the opportunity to return to the divisional format the conference had in place before losing four programs to other conferences.
The next decision for the conference will revolve around the location of the championship game — Arlington, Kansas City, and San Antonio are the cities currently under consideration.