Ultimate Guide to 2015 Big 12 Media Days

With SEC Media Days finishing up, the Big 12 will get its media circus underway at the Omni Hotel in downtown Dallas next week from July 20-21. 

You can see the full schedule and which players are attending HERE. 

There's no shortage of storylines for Big 12 Media Days, but which ones get the top bill? The conference is in a unique position in both the playoff and realignment/expansion landscapes. Additionally, its two blue-blood programs, Texas and Oklahoma, are looking to bounce back from disappointing seasons. 

When stability isn't the first adjective used to describe your conference, there are going to be a lot of questions as to why. As such, the ultimate guide to Big 12 Media Days has a heavy theme on these types of issues. Which big picture questions will be asked next week in Dallas? Here are five to watch. 

To Expand or Not to Expand?

LM Otero/Associated Press

To expand, or not to expand—that is the question: Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous realignment rumors, or to take arms against ridiculous expansion targets and by opposing end them. 

See, Hamlet's soliloquy works for pretty much anything. 

Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby has made it clear, despite the well-documented stance of Oklahoma president David Boren, that he has no reason to believe a majority of the conference presidents favor expansion.

“At some point, the majority may represent the position that we should get bigger,” Bowlsby told Chuck Carlton of The Dallas Morning News. “I have not heard at this point that they feel that way.”

Interestingly, one would think those presidents would favor expansion if it meant long-term security; few, if any, Big 12 teams have realignment options in the way Oklahoma or Texas do. 

But there's also a distinct difference between wanting to expand, and being able to expand. The most straightforward stance on Big 12 expansion is that the conference would probably love nothing more than to grow by two, but the candidates simply aren't out there at this time. In other words, forget whether the Big 12 could restructure its media rights deal, and by how much, as a result of growth. The value simply isn't available. 

All of this is known and has been known for some time. Still, media days are an oasis for the offseason, which is a brutal, vast desert for content. Questions—many, many questions—will be asked about the Big 12's future membership. Those questions will be directed toward Bowlsby, coaches and maybe even players. 

The answers to those questions figure to be divided. One thing is clear, though. The answers will be opinions and nothing more, as the horizon for any kind of growth figures to be a long ways away. 

Playoff or Bust: Round 2

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

Along the same lines of expansion, another hot-button topic will be the Big 12's positioning in the playoff landscape—specifically, as it relates to hosting a conference championship game.

Last season, of course, Baylor and TCU were left out of the four-team field and finished fifth and sixth in the final regular-season rankings, respectively. It was an especially tough situation for the Horned Frogs, who won their final game against Iowa State, yet fell three spots out of the playoff conversation. Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez said later that the Big 12's co-champion outcome hurt the conference in the playoff conversation. 

But, 2015 is a new year. Since there's no real formula for playoff inclusion, it's possible that what hurt the Big 12 a year ago—a lack of a conference championship game—could benefit it this time around. 

As it relates to TCU and Baylor, the preseason media poll reflected the talking points of the offseason: The Frogs and Bears were the runaway favorites to win the conference. Clearly, the November 27 game in Fort Worth between these two teams is going to be marked in red. 

What TCU and Baylor need to do to be named one of the final four teams, and whether that'll even be enough, will undoubtedly be oft-asked questions during media days. 

Oklahoma the Underdog

Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press

As mentioned before, TCU and Baylor are No. 1 and No. 2 in the media's preseason poll, respectively. While that's not a huge surprise, it means Oklahoma doesn't occupy one of those two spots for the first time since 2000 (h/t Eric Bailey, the Tulsa World). 

The Sooners, for the record, came in at No. 3. 

Being projected as one of the top two teams in the conference for that long is an amazing streak. And generally, the Sooners under head coach Bob Stoops have had that prediction come to fruition. 

All streaks come to an end, though, and there shouldn't be any question that Baylor and TCU are the top teams in the conference. That places the Sooners in unfamiliar territory as the underdog, dark horse or sleeper. It's a merited title too. The Sooners went 0-2 against Baylor and TCU last year, and they have been outclassed by the Bears in each of the past two seasons. 

To some, Oklahoma might still be a Big 12 title contender. The Sooners certainly aren't lacking talent, and a coaching staff shake-up might be the breath of fresh air this program needed to realize its potential. But, again, look at that phrase, "needed to realize its potential." When was the last time you could really say that about Oklahoma?

When you're a program at the top, expectations are positioned in the context of underachieving. In other words, did the Sooners meet expectations in a given year, or did they fall short? This time around, there's a question about whether Oklahoma can surpass expectations. 

That's a novel concept. 

Where Have All the Quarterbacks Gone?

Alonzo Adams/Associated Press

Three quarterbacks will represent their teams during Big 12 Media Days: Trevone Boykin (TCU), Sam B. Richardson (Iowa State) and Trevor Knight (Oklahoma). That says a lot about the state of the quarterback position in the Big 12, a conference long associated with great quarterback play. 

Furthermore, it's no guarantee that Knight will even be the Sooners starting quarterback this season. But Stoops' decision to bring Knight speaks more to the redshirt junior's leadership qualities than his position on the depth chart. Just because Knight is coming to Dallas doesn't mean he'll trot out on to the field first in Week 1 against Akron. 

Roughly half of the Big 12 teams have a clear, or even detectable, sense of who their starting quarterback will be. However, only two of them, Iowa State and TCU, are actually bringing their quarterbacks. The rest are undecided. 

There won't be a heavy quarterback presence during this year's Big 12 Media Days, but there will be a lot of curiosity about the position across the conference. Texas will specifically get a lot of inquiries about the ongoing battle between Tyrone Swoopes and Jerrod Heard. Even mostly settled positions, like the ones at Baylor (Seth Russell) and Oklahoma State (Mason Rudolph), will be asked about. Can Russell carry on the lineage of productive QBs? Can Rudolph finally break through the Cowboys' revolving door at that position?

Life for Head Coach Charlie Strong at Texas

Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Texas head coach Charlie Strong's time at Big 12 media days was bound to revolve around the Longhorns quarterback battle and necessary improvements from Year 1 to Year 2. Those storylines still apply, but there's another fresh from the oven report that adds some spice to Strong's media days appearance. 

And it involves his boss, athletic director Steve Patterson. 

Chuck Carlton of The Dallas Morning News reported Wednesday evening that, per multiple sources, "Patterson has been told to change his personal style": 

"

The sources cautioned that Patterson hasn’t yet reached the point of no return with new school president Greg Fenves. The two are scheduled to talk again Friday, sources said, as part of regularly scheduled meetings. In previous meetings, Fenves has expressed concern and told Patterson of the need to change an approach that some see as impersonal or even arrogant.

"

The report comes about a month after Chip Brown of Horns Digest wrote a detailed article of Patterson's leadership tendencies and how they were angering those in and around the program. 

Patterson has a reported history of rubbing people the wrong way. What that means for his future at Texas is unclear, and it's unlikely Strong will be able to provide any sort of insight into how things really are within the athletic department. Not that he'd want to anyway. 

Still, these are fascinating and potentially unstable times for Texas. The Big 12's top dog isn't used to being in this position. 

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All quotes cited unless obtained firsthand.