It may be a Power Four in college football, but it really is a Power Two... Once Oklahoma and Texas played their parts in the latest and greatest wave of realignment, the Big 12 had to recalibrate a bit once its last two remaining blue-bloods linked up with the SEC. While the Big 12 has been a fun league to watch from afar, Oklahoma is better off in its new conference, to the chagrin of others.
If you want a good laugh today, check out what Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard had to say.
"The four commissioners spent a lot of money creating the CSC. Then to have two of the conferences not want to adhere to it is perplexing to me, because then, why did we spend the money? If you didn't want rules, then why did you create this entity? That's what's frustrating to me, the same people that say they want rules only want rules if they don't apply to them..."
He continued expressing his disproval of the Big Ten and SEC for not being kind to his conference.
"I said it three years ago, let 'em break away. I would turn it around and say we should break away from them. Let them go, but they have to go in all their sports and see how fun it is to play baseball and softball and track when it's just the 20 of you."
No, the irony should not be lost on you when it comes to hearing from an AD without a baseball team.
"That's what I think we should do, but I'm one person, and you know that's probably a little more draconian, but that's how I feel about it. Let's quit talking about it, quit threatening, go do it. But if you're going to do it, you don't get to just do it in football and then keep all your other sports with us. No, take them all, see how fun it is."
Here is everything Pollard had to say about being so incredibly frustrated about the Big Ten and SEC.
Jamie Pollard expresses his frustration with the Big Ten and SEC for not adhering to the rules of the College Sports Commission. He adds he would be okay with the two conferences splitting from the NCAA.
— Cyclone Fanatic (@cyclonefanatic) May 19, 2026
"The four commissioners spent a lot of money creating the CSC. Then to have… pic.twitter.com/99sxDi89oQ
Pollard may be one of the better athletic directors in the sport, but he is fighting for a lost cause here.
Jamie Pollard proves Oklahoma made the right choice to join the SEC
Before piling on just a bit, let's understand what has transpired to Pollard at Iowa State. The former head coach of his football team left for a Big Ten job in Matt Campbell taking over at Penn State. While TJ Otzelberger remains the face of the men's basketball program, it feels like it is only a matter of time before he gets poached. Even The Mayor of Ames left Iowa State and now leads Nebraska basketball.
To put it plain and simple, Iowa State and Oklahoma used to be conference opponents for an extraordinarily long time. Before the Big 12, there was the Big Eight, and they were both part of it. That being said, only one of those two programs carried the weight of the conference on the football field. Iowa State has had its moments as a basketball school, but Oklahoma remains a football behemoth.
So rather than try to carry the weight of burdensome programs who never really bring anything to the table, why not go to a league that has upwards of eight blue-bloods already there? Prior to joining with Texas, the SEC has traditional powers at schools like Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, and Tennessee, not to mention several others who finance their athletic departments at incredible levels.
Again, this is not meant to disparage the Big 12, Iowa State, or anyone who is affiliated with that confernece today. It is about understanding that big players in the world of college athletics like Oklahoma and Texas were no longer having their needs met in their former league. Other teams have left other leagues before. Look what happened to the old Pac-12 we used to love and adore from afar.
Some good things can last for a lifetime, while others are always bound to have an expiration date...
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