In 1896, a group of administrators from Midwestern colleges met in Chicago to settle the rules for what was then called the Western Conference, which would later be known as the Big Ten. They agreed in writing, according to an account in the next day’s Chicago Tribune, “to keep inter-collegiate athletic contests within their proper […]
Iowa State has not traditionally been a college football program that reciprocates heightened expectations with on-field success. So it was tragically on brand when the Cyclones entered the season ranked in the Associated Press preseason poll for the third time in school history and then lost by 17 points at Jack Trice Stadium to an […]
The Red River Showdown traditionally has been a midmorning buffet of resentment and braggadocio, of “those sorry bastards” and Horns Down hysterics. It’s also an annual litmus test for the Big 12 Conference. The rivalry game in Dallas often denotes the moment pragmatism makes its way into the postseason-expectation conversation. And for tentpole institutions like […]
While the Big Ten and Pac-12 elected not to compete this fall in college football, three of the sport’s five major conferences and more than 70 Football Bowl Subdivision programs will, with games outside the Power Five already underway. Many fans are thrilled. But epidemiologists are worried about the consequences of college football amid a […]
The top-ranked Baylor men’s basketball team hasn’t lost in more than three months and is riding a Big 12-record 23-game win streak. This isn’t the first stint at No. 1 for the school under head coach Scott Drew, but this team is nothing like previous iterations of his Bears. While a revered recruiting prowess and […]