Big 12 and Pac-10 to face off in conference challenge
Jan. 12, 2007
By Jay Langley Daily Toreador
January 12, 2007
Lubbock, TX (CSTV U-WIRE) -- On Thursday, the Big 12 and Pacific-10 conferences announced a four-year series of 12 men's basketball games to be played annually against one another. The series will start with the 2007-08 season.
"I am not anxious to go all the way to the West Coast in the middle of the winter," Tech Coach Bob Knight said. "There are plenty of good teams within an hour of us that we could play in the non-conference schedule. But if the people who make the decisions in our league office, who I think for the most part have done a good job, think it's a good idea, then we will try it and see what happens."
The name of the event, television coverage, sponsorship and game sites are scheduled to be determined at a later date. Knight said he would be more in favor of the event if the games were played in a neutral location, such as Dallas or San Antonio.
Assistant Commissioner of the Big 12 Bob Burda said the Big 12 and Pac-10 began discussions about the series in the spring of 2006.
"I think the series will do two important things for the teams in our conference," Burda said. "First, it will increase the visibility of the talented teams, players and coaches in our conference. Second, it will help our teams with their RPI rankings, which is especially important in the postseason."
Kansas coach Bill Self, who coached in a similar series at Illinois as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, said the series will be good for everyone involved.
"Being part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge was great," Self said. "It will help market our league, and our league deserves to be marketed because it's one of the best leagues in the country."
Big 12/Pac-10 Men's Basketball Series
Thursday, Nov. 29, 2007
Oregon at Kansas State
Oklahoma at USC
Friday, Nov. 30, 2007
Washington State at Baylor
Iowa State at Oregon State
Saturday, Dec. 1, 2007
Washington at Oklahoma State
Missouri at California
Sunday, Dec. 2, 2007
Arizona State at Nebraska
Stanford at Colorado
Texas at UCLA
Texas A&M at Arizona
Outside the 10-game series window
Arizona at Kansas (Sun., Nov. 25, 2007)
Stanford vs. Texas Tech (Sat., Dec. 22, 2007)
(C) 2007 Daily Toreador via CSTV U-WIRE
