How Big 12 coaches feel about the state of the conference — and college basketball as a whole

The Big 12 is widely viewed as one of the best college basketball conferences in the country, and its coaches have plenty to say regarding the sport’s changing landscape.

At the Big 12’s annual spring meetings in Frisco, Texas, head coaches Tommy Lloyd of Arizona and Ross Hodge of West Virginia answered questions from reporters about NCAA Tournament expansion, eligibility rules, the league’s brand, and more.

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Here are some of Lloyd and Hodge’s most notable thoughts.

On navigating unprecedented circumstances in college basketball

Lloyd: “You could sit around and complain, but if you do that, how are you going to be successful? I think there’s joy in trying to figure something out that’s really challenging, and that definitely has been college basketball, or college athletics overall, in the last five or eight years. What’s tough is it never feels like it slows down.

“(We’re) looking for certainty with the rules. I think a lot of us are dealing with potential eligibility issues, you know, that obviously have coaches frustrated, because based on how the rules were going to be made last year, it looks like it might change this year.

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“… But I think the support of the game and the fandom has never been better. I think the quality of the product is going to continue to improve. I think more of these kids have the option to stay in college longer now, which is a good thing. It’s a good thing for our game.”

On the Big 12 potentially changing from 18 conference games per season to 20

Lloyd: “Us coaches, I think there’s kind of a general consensus, we’re really happy with 18 (games). We think that gives us the best flexibility to schedule accordingly with our nonconference schedules based on the needs of our program.

“Obviously, I think that there’s going to be a push from the conference level to get 20 games, because they want more content so when we do become media free agents in 2030, they think that content gives us more…

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Publish date : 2026-05-27 21:38:00

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