Sonny Dykes makes the Big 12's case as the next mega-conference amid realignment

New TCU head coach Sonny Dykes believes that the future of the Big 12 is bright. It’s a conference that he has tons of experience with, going back to his father who was a head coach at Texas Tech. Now, he says that the conference could be the next mega-conference amid realignment.

“It begins with how passionate people are about football in that part of the country,” Sonny Dykes explained. “I think we have the same thing here in the Big 12. There’s no place in the world in my opinion that football is more important than the state of Texas. So we have Texas as a base. We have all these great institutions outside of Texas that are very passionate about football.”

Sonny Dykes sees that the new schools joining the Big 12 have a similar set of ideals about football. This should help the conference continue to improve.

“I had a chance to coach last year against Cincinnati when I was at SMU,” Sonny Dykes said. “I saw how passionate their fan base was. The state of Ohio is very passionate, obviously, the state of Florida is passionate. We’re adding those teams. BYU has a very passionate fan base. Obviously, Houston has had tremendous tradition and a very passionate fan base. Those are all teams that we’re bringing into the league, and I think at the end of the day that’s what matters is how much does an institution care about being successful in football.”

Importantly, Sonny Dykes says that the Big 12 schools are committed to football. This commitment gives them the potential to develop into a conference of excellent football programs.

“I think the great thing about the Big 12 is that they’re incredibly committed,” Sonny Dykes said. “You go and you look at what teams are doing now from a facilities standpoint in this league, they’re doing nothing but continuing to invest at a higher level. As that happens, the league will continue to improve. And, again, I’m excited about the new leadership in the Big 12, and I think that we’re going to be very aggressive and cutting edge in the way we approach preservation and also, too, expansion.”

Clearly, Sonny Dykes thinks that the schools in the new Big 12 are positioned to quickly develop and grow. If he’s right, and the Big 12 chooses to add new schools in conference realignment, then Sonny Dykes is likely right that the Big 12 is the next mega-conference.

This is Sonny Dykes’ first season as a head coach in the Big 12. He has spent time in C-USA, the PAC-12, and the AAC before.