Make the Big 12 Great AgainBy: Andrew Bailey"One True Champion"In December of 2010, Oklahoma rallied from 17 points down to defeat Nebraska 23-20 at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Led by Landry Jones and DeMarco Murray, the Sooners were Big 12 Champions and headed to the Fiesta Bowl. However once the confetti had been swept up, the game's deeper implications sank in and this game is now revered as a requiem for the conference's prestige.After the game between Nebraska and Oklahoma, the Big 12 did not meet the NCAA teams requirement to host a conference championship game. Essentially, the Big 12 was a power 5 conference now stuck in mid-major obscurity. In the following years, the Big 12 lost and gained members, NCAA legislation requirements change, but the conference still remained frozen in a state of uncertainty; until last month, when the conference began to rise again.The Big 12 announced in October 2016 that the Big 12 Championship Game will return in 2017 (Yay, rejoice... Not so fast my friend). The return of the game is monumental, but the conference is still limiting its potential. Primarily due to television scheduling, the Big 12 has decided to not expand despite interviewing 11 potential expansion candidates. Granted, 'money makes the NCAA (and its conferences) go round,' this decision handicaps the Big 12 and one last season of self-destruction willserve as reassurance.As of Tuesday, November eighth, the Big 12 has no undefeated teams and their best hope at earning a College Football Playoff berth rests on the eleventh ranked Oklahoma Sooners. Reaching the playoff requires a Shawshank amount of hope because Oklahoma was beaten handily by fifth ranked Ohio State and unranked Houston. The conference's elite are all forced to run through a permanent conference gauntlet that is nearly impossible to emerge from unscathed. The Big 12 needs to take a page from the SEC's book and protect their elites.The SEC is the perennial power conference in college football and brilliant scheduling has allowed for this to happen. Take Alabama, they have played four teams currently ranked and have a showdown with ninth ranked rival Auburn looming. Here is what their schedule looks like:Current CFP RankingTeamDate

20USC (neutral site)9/3

WKU9/10

@ Ole Miss9/17

Kent State9/24

UK10/1

25@ Arkansas10/8

@ Tennessee10/15

8Texas A&M10/22

24@ LSU11/5

Mississippi State11/12

Chattanooga11/19

9Auburn11/26

In the first five games, Alabama plays a ranked non-conference opponent, one road conference game, one home conference game, and two cup cakes. The heart of the schedule looks rough, but their toughest match up was at home and they had a bye week before their last conference road game. Moreover, Alabama always schedules a sub-par opponent the week before the Iron Bowl as a tune-up. Their schedule is not as overwhelming as people thing, it is simply balanced and calculated. Imagine if the Big 12 could add four new teams and split into two equally strong divisions:Potential Big 12 Conference SplitOklahomaBaylor

TexasTCU

Oklahoma StateWVU

Kansas StateTexas Tech

KansasIowa State

Houston*BYU*

Cincinnati*Colorado State*

*Four of interviewing candidates from last month*Each team would play every inner-division opponent and then either two or three teams from the other division, each season, depending on the format. These two to three teams would rotate every year and Big 12 teams (depending on format) could schedule three to four non-conference games. The formats I am referencing are how the other four Power 5 schools are divided: the SEC and ACC play 8 conference games, while the Big 10 and Pac-12 play 9 conference games. At the end of the season, the top teams in each division would play for the Big 12 Championship at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.If WVU played a schedule similar to the SEC/ACC:TeamDate

neutral site non-conferenceLSU9/3

in-state rival non-conferenceMarshall9/10

@TCU9/17

non-conferenceNorthern Illinois9/24

Kansas State10/1

@Texas Tech10/8

@Oklahoma State10/15

Colorado State10/22

@Iowa State11/5

BYU11/12

non-conferenceThe Citadel11/19

Baylor11/26

If Texas played a schedule similar to the Big 10/ Pac-12:TeamDate

non-conferenceTulane9/3

non-conferenceUSF9/10

non-conferenceUtah9/17

@Baylor9/24

Texas*10/1

Kansas10/8

Texas Tech10/15

@ Kansas State10/22

Houston11/5

@Iowa State11/12

Cincinnati11/19

@ Oklahoma State11/26

*Red River Rivalry is always played on the second weekend of the Texas State Fair at the Cotton Bowl.These changes are guaranteed to shake things up or at least provide a variety to the current mundane scheduling. Each division would be competitive, essentially leading to a play-in game for the College Football Playoff.However, in fitting Big 12 fashion, 2016 has been one last season of self-destruction. Only two teams (Oklahoma State, WVU) are playing above expectations and while Oklahoma is still the highest ranked conference school (despite two losses), that glaring loss to Houston looks worse by the week. Not to be outdone, Baylor decided to get blown out by rival TCU 62-22 last weekend, all while staging a protest of support for disgraced former coach Art Briles. Briles was fired this past summer for being negligent and simply "over looking" SEXUAL ASSAULT crimes committed by his players.Baylor is a national embarrassment and this only contributes to the demise of the Big 12. In recent years, Baylor has been a national power with an innovative offense that is constantly in the CFP mix. But now, they are on the verge of having the rest of their season rightfully canceled.The Big 12 is tearing itself apart (man, I feel like Tommy Wiseau) and the conference must firstly, punish Baylor. A team cannot hide something as serious as sexual assault and not be punished. If this were over impermissible benefits, the NCAA would probably hand down the death penalty because God forbid the kids take money away from them. Secondly, the conference needs realignment for a new beginning.A fresh start for the conference would allow them to once again compete in the present day world of college football. The Playoff would become an expectation for this conference and allow them to put these days of mediocrity behind them. This conference can be great again, but change is required.Twitter: @Andy_Bailey1