New Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark secured his conference's near-term future with a 6-year, $2.28 billion extension with ESPN and Fox, signed last October. And now that he's got Big 12 games on TV, his next step is getting more people to tune into them.
One idea: let TV viewers into the sanctuary that is the sideline and the locker room.
Sports Illustrated broke the news of the plan on Wednesday, which would require coaches to conduct interviews while the game is in action. It remains to be seen if this means a quick question or two coming out of TV timeouts -- a la the NBA -- or if the Big 12 will require its coaches to provide commentary while the ball is in play, previously deployed only in spring games.
The conference's TV partners also want to record pre- and post-game footage from within the locker room, and are also open to the idea of micing up players and coaches for audio to play during the game.
The plan is to begin some or all of these ideas this season. ESPN and Fox pitched the idea to Big 12 ADs and coaches during the league's spring meetings in Phoenix this week.
"It's not coming," a Big 12 coach told 247Sports. "It's now."
If the plan is successful, it will be interesting to see how quickly other leagues follow suit.