Big 12

Big 12 Championship is one of the most awaited and looked forward series of games from coast to coast. It has gained the position of national level championship despite the fact that it is only 13 years old. It is a college basketball championship held by the Big 12 Conference once a year. It is also called “Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament”. It is a single tournament with elimination during four rounds, with four top seeds in the first round. Seeding is defined as per regular season game. Big 12 Conference was officially formed on February 25, 1994, when Big Eight Conference joined four Texas schools from Southwest conference.  The conference has 12 institutes that have shared many traditional rivalries throughout their histories. The member school includes; Baylor University, University of Colorado, Iowa State University, University of Kansas, Kansas State University, University of Missouri, University of Nebraska,  University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University, University of Texas, Texas A&M University and Texas Tech University. Big 12 Conference includes21 sports in total, in which basketball is a major game. In Big 12 Championship, University of Kansas and University of Oklahoma has had the highest numbers of wins.

The teams are not divided in two divisions as is the case in most of the games played within the conference. Nevertheless, the schedule is structured as if the teams are divided in two divisions. In Big 12 Championship, 16 conference games are played in total. Teams play home game with other teams in their division and a single game with teams from another division. This denies Oklahoma University and Oklahoma State University the game with their traditional rivals but as the two universities are leaving the conference from 2011, the structure will change to 18 games, which will allow double round robin structure. Paul Pierce from Kansas University, winner of the first two games of the conference in basketball has now become an international star. Another player, Hollis Player from Oklahoma University is also a two-time winner. 

Big 12 Championship men’s basketball player of the year is given to the conference’s most outstanding player. Raef LaFrentz of Kansas is the only player who has won this award multiple times. Besides him two freshmen, Kevin Durant of Texas and Michael Beasley of Kansas State have also won this award.  

The upcoming basketball tournament is scheduled to be played at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The other venues where the Big 12 Championship games have been held are Kemper Arena, Kansas City, Missouri; American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas and Ford Center, Oklahoma, Oklahoma city. Sprint Center, where the tournament will be played this year, has honored Big 12 Championship’s outstanding players.

The Big 12 Championship is solely sponsored by an oil company, Phillips 66, based in Oklahoma. Due to its sponsorship, the Championship is also known as Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament. All the teams in the conference are managed by competent managers from their respective institutes. The championship has a huge fan following and has people from all around America gathering in Kansas City to watch the exciting and electrifying game this season. Both the fans of Kansas University and Kansas State University are overjoyed as the coaches have voted them to finish #1 and #2 for this season in the conference. The conference has many fan websites; as well as they have their presence on Facebook, Twitter and other common web communities. Big 12 Championship offers many promotional materials for their fans throughout the year. The individual institutes have their promotional materials as well.

Championships are a great source of entertainment for the students of the respective institutes and also for general public, especially alumni of these institutes. Big 12 Championship holds media days to kick off every season. The teleconferences held throughout the year can be watched on sports channels on local networks. All the games receive full and extensive coverage by prominent television channels.  This season is no exception as the championship has several television channels as their partners. Besides television, the games are given full coverage by local radio, satellite radio as well as web. The championship has all the ingredients to keep you interested throughout the year and especially during the final season. The tournament offers thrilling and stimulating game played by energetic, young and enthusiastic players. Get your Big 12 Championship tickets right now and have a thrilling experience!