Barfknecht: Big 12 powers content with conference

With the swirl of talk about Big Ten expansion and conference realignment, what is Texas football coach Mack Brown's concern about the Big 12 hanging together?

“None,'' he said Tuesday. “Our president, Bill Powers, and our athletics director, DeLoss Dodds, would have come to me and talked to me at length about the possibility of the Big 12 changing or not having a Big 12 or different realignments.

“We have not had serious discussions about any of that. I don't feel, from the knowledge I have, that there is much going on out there as far as the Big 12.''

Hmmm.

In the past two days, high-profile folks from the biggest dog in the Big 12 (Texas) and one of the next biggest (Texas A&M) have publicly stated support for the league and for staying in it.

So if two of the most prized possessions in any realignment plan don't want to go anywhere, does that mean nothing will happen?

Not necessarily. We've seen coaches say one week that they'll never take a job at School A, and then a week later move there. So you never really know.

Still, my advice is to calm down and tune out the hyperventilation on talk radio and the blogosphere about earthquake-like change.

Is something going to happen? Possibly. Does anybody really know what? No.

I like Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads' opinion: “This is all crystal-ball work right now.''

That doesn't mean public pronouncements from the Big Ten and Pac-10 about considering expansion aren't highly newsworthy events.

They are. They also are frustrating — for fans and sportswriters. Rarely have I done so many interviews about a topic and come up with so little actual fact to report.

“It will be interesting how it all unfolds, if it does change any,'' Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops said. “Like most things, nothing stays the same forever. You're kind of always evolving.''

That goes for the Big 12, too.

This 14-year-old conference went through some early growing pains, but it has emerged as a multi-layered powerhouse. For proof, watch the first round of the NFL draft Thursday night. Of the 30 picked, there could be 10 from the Big 12.

“It's working because there are really good teams,'' Texas' Brown said. “I'm glad to see Nebraska is back now because we needed that. When I got here, Nebraska, Kansas State and Colorado were the three strongest teams in the league.

“I feel the North is coming back now, and we're about to be one of the better conferences in the country at the top end.''

Sad news for Kansas State

Dylan Meier, who played quarterback at Kansas State from 2002 to '06, died Monday from a 100-foot fall during a family hiking trip in Arkansas.

“For all of us here,'' K-State coach Bill Snyder said Tuesday, “this is a major setback and somewhat difficult to get our arms around.

“He was an unbelievable young man in all the right ways. He was probably as good a leader as one could wish for.''

Meier, 26, is from a football-playing family. His older brother, Shad, played at Kansas State and in the NFL as a tight end. His young brother, Kerry, just finished his career at Kansas as a quarterback and wide receiver and is expected to be drafted this weekend.

Dylan Meier the past few years has been traveling throughout Europe, Snyder said, and had recently agreed to go back overseas to coach.

Rare injury report from KSU

The last time Snyder willingly offered injury information about someone on his football team was, well ... never.

But Tuesday, he openly spoke about someone who suffered three torn knee ligaments during spring practice.

Himself.

Snyder, 70, got buried under 600 pounds of defensive linemen during some scrimmage work. He got back up and finished practice, not knowing until later how bad his knee was.

“Amazingly, there has been no pain,'' he said. “It really hasn't been an issue. It's braced up, so I'm able to do what I always have been doing.''

Is surgery coming?

“I'm still getting some advice from the doctors,'' Snyder said. “The things I do for physical activity, I can do without the surgery. If I'm ever going to play pickup basketball games or golf, it will require that.''

Bits and pieces

• New Kansas coach Turner Gill said he wants to blanket a 300-mile radius around Lawrence, Kan., in recruiting, but has his sights set nationally, too. Texas and Florida will be key hunting grounds. In Florida, Gill said, the Miami area will be targeted.

• The Texas A&M at Oklahoma State game has been moved from Oct. 2 to Thursday, Sept. 30. Those are two Nebraska opponents this season.

• The Big 12 summer football media days will be July 26 to 28 in Dallas.

Contact the writer:

444-1024, lee.barfknecht@owh.com

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