Open For Business: a Big 12 Podcast w/ John Kurtz

Houston might be the team standing between Texas Tech and a dream Big 12 season. In this episode, Parker Ainsworth from Locked On Coogs joins the show to break down why Willie Fritz has Houston football positioned as one of the most dangerous teams in the Big 12. The Cougars won 10 games last season, return Conner Weigman at quarterback, added more talent through the portal, and may have one of th...

The Big 12 may have found its best path to expanded College Football Playoff access: a 24-team playoff with three automatic bids for each Power Four conference. Brett Yormark says the Big 12 supports a 24-team CFP, and the ACC is publicly on board too. But is this actually a win for the Big 12, or is it a dangerous gamble that could make college football’s regular season matter even less? In this...

Follow Chris Level at Locked On Texas Tech: https://www.youtube.com/@UCPkBv_tzDQTqWM0rp5Ac7-g  Chris Level of Locked On Texas Tech joins the show to break down how Joey McGuire and the Red Raiders are positioning themselves for long-term success in the new Big 12. We discuss the Brendan Sorsby uncertainty, Will Hammond’s injury timeline, how Texas Tech may have to adjust offensively, and why the R...

Should the Big 12 actually love the 24-team College Football Playoff? SEC country and much of the national college football media seem to hate the idea, but that might be exactly why Big 12 fans should take a closer look. In this show, I break down why a 24-team playoff could create a major opportunity for the Big 12, why it could also backfire badly, and the one massive risk the league has to avo...

Brendan Sorsby’s gambling scandal keeps getting more complicated, especially when it comes to what Cincinnati knew and when the Bearcats knew it. Justin Williams of The Athletic joins the show to break down the latest reporting on Sorsby, Cincinnati’s role in the story, the difference between legal gambling and NCAA violations, and why the ongoing lawsuit between Cincinnati and Sorsby makes this e...

Brendan Sorsby’s NCAA gambling investigation may not be as simple as it looked a few days ago. After reports that Texas Tech could back Sorsby in a legal fight if the NCAA rules him permanently ineligible, there may now be a better chance he plays than many originally thought. On tonight’s live show, we’re breaking down the latest on Sorsby’s case, the involvement of prominent sports lawyer Jeffre...

Texas Tech may be headed for a legal fight with the NCAA over Brendan Sorsby, and Cincinnati could be facing serious questions of its own after reports that it knew about Sorsby’s gambling situation before last season. On tonight’s live show, I’ll break down whether Texas Tech could challenge the NCAA, whether a “ghost transfer” QB is realistic, and how much trouble Cincinnati could be in if this...

Brendan Sorsby’s gambling investigation just took a major turn, and now Cincinnati may have serious questions to answer. According to USA Today, Cincinnati was alerted before the 2025 season that Sorsby had been gambling, then still allowed him to play. Now Sorsby is at Texas Tech, Cincinnati is suing him over his departure, and the NCAA could be looking at more than just the quarterback. In this...

Brendan Sorsby is entering treatment for a gambling addiction while the NCAA investigates thousands of online bets, including reported bets on Indiana while he was on the Hoosiers roster. That raises major eligibility questions and could end his Texas Tech career before it ever really begins. In this video, I break down what we know about the Sorsby gambling investigation, why the Hunter Dekkers p...

College football realignment may be ready to heat back up, and the Big 12 could have a new window into the ACC drama. With Miami reportedly searching for a new athletic director and Brett Yormark’s brother Michael Yormark connected to the job, the Big 12 may suddenly have a fascinating new tie to one of the most important brands in the ACC. We’ll talk about what that could mean for Miami, the Big...

Kirk Herbstreit is still trying to kill the Big 12, and his latest ESPN comments after the NFL Draft are only adding fuel to the fire. In this video, I break down why the Big 12’s first round was a huge statement, how the conference stacked up with the SEC, and why ESPN still seems reluctant to give the league its due. The Big 12 finished with six first-round NFL Draft picks, including three in th...

ESPN dropped its new post-spring college football rankings, and once again the Big 12 feels stuck in the same old spot: respected just enough to stay relevant, but not enough to get the full benefit of the doubt. In tonight’s live show, we break down whether ESPN is really back to hating the Big 12, why Texas Tech may still be getting held back, why BYU might be getting more national respect than...

Is the Big 12 holding Texas Tech back? Cody Campbell's fight with Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark took the Big 12 by storm this month.  Texas Tech is one of the biggest storylines in the Big 12 right now, and Rob Breaux joined me to explain why Red Raider fans feel like the rest of the conference still does not fully respect what Tech has become. We discuss Texas Tech’s rising power, the fr...

Will Howard says K-State took advantage of him, didn’t pay him enough, and treated him differently during his final season in Manhattan. In this video, I break down Howard’s comments, why parts of his NIL criticism of Kansas State feel misleading, and what this says about the transfer portal era in college football. This isn’t just a K-State story. It’s a bigger look at how NIL, roster movement, a...

BYU got Rob Wright back, beat out Kentucky in the process, and raised a wild question about college basketball in the NIL era: is BYU actually the better program right now? In this video, I break down how BYU landed Rob Wright again after his trip to Lexington, what this says about the Cougars’ NIL power, and why BYU vs. Kentucky is a much more legitimate debate than a lot of people want to admit....

FanDuel’s new Big 12 College Football Playoff odds are wild. Texas Tech is getting huge respect from the books, but the biggest story may be how low Arizona State is sitting and which Big 12 team looks like the best value on the entire board. In this video, I break down the latest Big 12 playoff odds, why Texas Tech is so high, why Arizona State feels shockingly undervalued, and why Oklahoma State...

Is college football heading toward $100 million rosters, and what would that mean for the Big 12? In this live stream, I break down where that number is coming from, whether it’s real or fear mongering, and why it could be a major warning sign for the future of the sport. We’re also diving into BYU’s huge portal win with Rob Wright, what it says about Kevin Young and the Cougars’ NIL power, whethe...

In this video, I break down a major clue that suggests KU may already have its next men’s basketball coach in mind, and it could be a familiar name from right here in the Big 12. Bill Self is back for now, but recent contract details surrounding Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd raise some very interesting questions about Kansas’ long-term plan. I also explain why the Jayhawks may be in a much better spot...

Did the Big 12 punish Texas Tech by giving the Red Raiders two non-Saturday games? On tonight’s show, I break down the latest Brett Yormark vs. Cody Campbell drama after Texas Tech landed a Friday game against Houston and a Thanksgiving night matchup with TCU. I explain why I actually think the Big 12 got this right, why Tech fans are frustrated, and why the TCU game could be a huge TV win for the...

The Big 12 transfer portal is getting messy, and in some cases, it could turn into full-on rivalry fuel. In this live stream, we break down the wildest portal storylines in the conference, including Rob Wright leaving BYU, the possibility of Kansas losing a top player to a Big 12 rival, and the growing drama around in-conference movement. We also get into Brett Yormark vs. Cody Campbell, Sonny Dyk...

Texas Tech’s Big 12 drama just took another turn. In this video, I break down the latest chapter in the growing tension between Texas Tech, Cody Campbell, Brett Yormark, and now Joey McGuire. What started as a fight over the Big 12 moving Texas Tech vs. Houston to Friday night has evolved into a bigger conversation about conference leadership, TV money, Texas high school football, recruiting, and...

In this video, I break down the war of words between Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti and TCU head coach Sonny Dykes after Dykes took a public shot at former quarterback Josh Hoover. Cignetti quickly fired back, defended his new quarterback, and in the process made a Big 12 coach look bad. I go through what Sonny Dykes said about Hoover’s turnover issues, why Curt Cignetti’s response landed so har...

Did BYU deserve to get burned by Rob Wright? In this video, I break down Rob Wright entering the transfer portal and why this move feels like one of the most shocking transfer portal developments in the Big 12 so far. After Rob Wright previously indicated he would either stay at BYU or go pro, the Cougars are now left scrambling and facing a brutal question: did BYU have this coming after the way...

In this video, I break down the growing drama around Flory Bidunga entering the transfer portal and why the possibility of KU losing its best returning player to Texas Tech or BYU would be a massive problem for Bill Self and the Jayhawks. With most of Kansas’ roster already in flux, this is the kind of portal loss that could completely reshape the Big 12 race. I go through the latest rumors around...

Bill Self is back at Kansas, and that immediately changes the conversation around KU basketball, the Big 12, and the future of one of the sport’s biggest brands. In this live stream, I break down whether Self can still win big in the NIL and transfer portal era, why Kansas fans should have mixed emotions, and what this means for the rest of the conference. I also dive into the growing Tommy Lloyd-...