2025 Big 12 Media Days: Day Two Recap

By: JC Nevils

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It’s that time of the year folks. Once July hits, that means media
days for every single conference will be in succession, which is
basically the beginning of next season. Then soon after comes fall
camp, and after that the season will be here before you know it. I
attended day two, so here are my takeaways from the day.

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FRISCO, TX- To begin with, this was my first-ever media day, so everything I saw and took in was eye-opening. It all started with the event being held in Frisco, Texas, at the Cowboys’ practice facility — better known as “The Star.” If you’ve never been, it’s a pretty surreal experience, especially for a practice facility.

Then, when you finally step onto the field, you’re met with all the pageantry, bowl trophies, helmets, and most impressive of all, the CFP National Championship Trophy. Even without media day going on, I’d recommend everyone visit at least once..

Now to the main event, as to why everyone even came in the first
place. With the Big 12 now expanded to 16 teams, they split the event in half, with
eight teams showing up on Tuesday along with eight more today.
The likes of Willie Fritz (Houston), Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State),
Rich Rodriguez (West Virginia), Lance Leipold (Kansas), Sonny
Dykes (TCU), Brent Brennan (Arizona), Kyle Whittingham (Utah),
and Coach Prime (Colorado) were all in attendance.

In my opinion, pretty much all of the coaches spoke about the
same things, which every coach does in any conference at media
day. They give a spiel on what they accomplished the previous
season, along with what they have been building for this upcoming
season. That comes along with new transfers, coaching changes, and
what to expect differently from the program.

Willie Fritz, the head man at Houston, started the day off as the first coach at the podium, and he immediately sent out thoughts and prayers to those around Texas who have had to deal with the recent floods. Having coached in the Texas area for years, he knows all the ins & outs of the state, especially Houston, which is filled with talent. The new 160,000-square-foot operations facility will also expedite the process.

Next up at the podium were Mike Gundy, followed by Rich Rodriguez and Lance Leipold. They all echoed some of the same points, as they were asked similar questions. Gundy has a brand-new QB room, along with 65 other new additions, while Rodriguez is just happy to be back home in West Virginia, where he had his best years to date. Kansas head man Leipold was asked about their mid-November run, where they turned the corner and looked like the team they believed they could be.

“Last year, kind of hit probably on the before that November run is
the tough start to the season and we just didn’t play our best, when
our best was needed. We didn’t close our football games. We had
opportunities to, and at the same time though as we talk about our
daily process within our program, we didn’t waver on that. We didn’t
deflect and we didn’t blame. We worked to continue to work hard,
and again our locker room did a great job. Our leaders did a great
job of sticking together and working, and I think we found out that once we were able to turn the corner and flip the switch so to speak,
our confidence grew and we became the team that we thought we
could have been all the way”.

TCU’s Sonny Dykes and Arizona’s Brent Brennan shared some of the same sentiments as well. Along with both believing their signal-callers will have big years, Sonny said he wants to see the game cleaned up and bring more parity to the sport. Kyle Whittingham spoke very highly of his new transfer quarterback, Devin Dampier, who came in from New Mexico and was also named the preseason Newcomer of the Year in the conference. Last, but certainly not least, was Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders at the podium—and he didn’t disappoint.

Having been sick and away from the team in Boulder, he came in
with a pep in his step along with tons of graciousness. “First of all I
trust God with all my mind, all my soul, and everything I have. I’d
never waver. I never say why me, regardless of what’s ahead of me
or what I see. Like Lord, just use me. If you could use anything, you
could use me”. 

To wrap up the day on the main stage was a coaches’ roundtable. To summarize it, they were asked about and spoke on what they think about the new age of college football and what needs to be done. They agreed that the kids deserve their money, but there needs to be a cap and conditions at some point. Hopefully, in the future, we’ll see that.

To conclude, it was a great outing not only for the media members, but for the coaches and the players as well. It was a great venue with excellent people all around, all sharing the same love—and that, my friends, is the game of college football.