The Big 12 Conference could be getting a new name.
Multiple college football insiders, including Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger and ESPN’s Pete Thamel, reported Thursday that Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark floated the idea of selling the conference’s naming rights during a meeting last month with conference administrators.
“Under the proposal, the conference’s name would undergo a significant alteration, prominently incorporating a sponsor’s name in the title — a common trend among bowl games, such the Capital One Orange Bowl and the Reliaquest Bowl, formerly the Outback Bowl,” Dellenger reported.
Both Dellenger and Thamel reported that the conference is willing to part with the word “Big” but wants to hold onto “12.”
Multiple social media users have pointed out the oddness of that stance, noting that the Big 12 will enter the fall college football season with 16 teams, including BYU and Utah.
Social media users also had fun proposing possible sponsors and names.
Buc-ee’s, a beloved gas station chain associated with the South, was the most popular suggestion.
Here are some of the funniest name ideas for a rebranded Big 12 Conference to be shared on social media:
- Now That’s What I Call Music Big 12 Conference, from ESPN’s Myron Medcalf.
- Whataconference (in reference to Whataburger), from The Athletic’s David Ubben.
- The Pop Tart 12, from The Athletic’s Mike Smeltz.
- The Swig 12, from Tanner Martin.
What schools are in the Big 12?
Here are the 16 teams that will compete in the Big 12 Conference this fall:
- Arizona.
- Arizona State.
- Baylor.
- BYU.
- UCF.
- Cincinnati.
- Colorado.
- University of Houston.
- Iowa State.
- Kansas.
- Kansas State.
- Oklahoma State.
- TCU.
- Texas Tech.
- University of Utah.
- West Virginia.