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

Arizona just saved the Big 12 from NCAA Tournament disaster. In this episode of Open For Business, John Kurtz breaks down how Arizona’s run to the Final Four may have rescued the Big 12’s reputation after ugly exits from Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Texas Tech, and BYU. Is Tommy Lloyd coaching the best team in college basketball right now? And can Arizona winning it all change the way people view...

Iowa State crushes Kentucky in the second half without Josh Jefferson. 

Kansas suffered another brutal NCAA Tournament exit, and now the biggest question in college basketball is impossible to ignore: is Bill Self done at Kansas? In this video, I break down KU’s heartbreaking loss to St. John’s, what went wrong offensively, why the Jayhawks still never fully clicked this season, and whether Kansas fans are justified in wondering if the Bill Self era could be nearing i...

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith took a major cheap shot at BYU and AJ Dybantsa, and it deserves a real response. In this video, I break down exactly what Stephen A. said about BYU, why the take was misguided, and how it ignored key context around Kevin Young, Richie Saunders, Dawson Baker, and the injuries that wrecked BYU’s depth all season. I also explain why the criticism of AJ Dybantsa going to BYU fa...

Texas controls BYU wire-to-wire as the Cougars season ends in disappointment in the first round. TCU channels March Madness to hold off Ohio State. Can they stun Duke? BYU’s season came to a painful end after getting pushed around by Texas, which raises the big question: was this season a failure or just a disappointment? In this video, I break down why BYU had too much on AJ Dybantsa’s shoulders,...

The Big 12 sent a loud message on Selection Sunday. In this video, I break down why the NCAA Tournament committee made it clear the Big 12 is the best basketball league in the country right now, from Houston, Arizona, Iowa State, BYU, and Texas Tech earning major respect to Kansas getting the toughest draw of any Big 12 team in the bracket. I also get into why the conference is about to make serio...

The Big 12 may have finally scored a real win in Washington, D.C. after the White House college sports meeting featuring Brett Yormark, Cody Campbell, Greg Sankey, and President Donald Trump. In this episode, John Kurtz breaks down what the Saving College Sports roundtable actually accomplished, why Greg Sankey got mocked for one of the worst comments of the event, and why new momentum in Congress...

Cody Campbell has the SEC and Big Ten worried, and now we have proof. In this video, I break down the backlash to Campbell’s Saving College Sports initiative after the SEC and Big Ten commissioned a white paper from FTI Consulting to counter his ideas. Campbell’s proposal includes major changes to college athletics, including a new voluntary governing organization with enforcement power, a single...

Cincinnati is suing Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby for $1 million in liquidated damages tied to an alleged two-year NIL agreement, and the timing could not be spicier. The lawsuit hits one day after Sorsby took a shot at Cincinnati on social media, turning an already tense in-conference transfer into a full-blown Big 12 feud. In this live stream, I break down what Cincinnati’s lawsuit says,...

Kansas basketball just took a gut-punch at Allen Fieldhouse, and now Dick Vitale is publicly saying KU should cut ties with Darryn Peterson. In this live show, I break down why Vitale is going there, what it could mean for Bill Self and Kansas’ ceiling in March, and why we still haven’t heard Peterson’s side of the story. Then we pivot to the exact opposite storyline in Provo: AJ Dybantsa goes nuc...

The Athletic spoke to legal experts who think K-State has a legitimate case against Jerome Tang. Big 12 basketball decimated by injuries. Self snaps about Darryn Peterson. Ranking Big 12 arenas.

CONTENT WARNING: This episode includes discussion of sexual assault allegations. In today’s Open For Business Big 12 show, we start with the latest on BYU football as receiver Parker Kingston has been charged with first-degree felony rape in Washington County, Utah. I walk through the limited, confirmed details that have been reported so far, including BYU’s public statement, what’s known about th...

Big 12 basketball has a money problem, and Kelvin Sampson just said the quiet part out loud. After Houston’s win, the Hall of Fame coach admitted the Cougars are broke, raising a bigger question for the conference: if one of the Big 12’s best programs is struggling for resources, what does that mean for competing in the new era of college sports? In this live show, I break down Sampson’s comments,...

Kansas hoops chaos, BYU’s reality check, and the Jerome Tang situation just got uglier. In this live show, I break down the Darryn Peterson conundrum after KU vs BYU. He looked like the best player in the country…then barely played in the second half again. Can Kansas actually win a national title if Peterson can’t gut out full games? Plus, Richie Saunders may have just changed his career in one n...

ESPN actually projected BYU and Texas Tech in the College Football Playoff, and Big 12 fans have every right to side-eye it. In this live show, I break down ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25 (and what it really signals about BYU’s playoff path), why the Cougars are finally getting respect, and which SEC brands got left out. Then we pivot to the bigger fear: while everyone laughs at the SEC and Big Ten f...

College Football Playoff is staying at 12 teams… and the Big 12 just locked in a guaranteed spot for its champion. That sounds like a win, but is this really stability – or just a pause before the SEC and Big Ten try to reshape the sport on their terms? In this show, I’ll break down what the CFP stalemate actually means for the Big 12, why the 4/4/2/2 model getting blocked matters, and how long th...

Texas Tech just got the friendliest playoff path in America, BYU is carrying the Big 12’s reputation into a massive showdown with Notre Dame, and Paul Finebaum somehow managed to take an unnecessary drive-by shot at BYU while disrespecting Indiana’s title run. We’re hitting all of it in this show. I break down why the new Big 12 schedule quietly sets up perfectly for Texas Tech to make another pla...

Many powerful leaders in college football want no revenue sharing cap anymore. Does that mean Tech and BYU are bound to rule the Big 12 forever moving forward? Get “Open For Business” a Big 12 newsletter sending the key headlines, interviews, and my analysis straight to your inbox. No more college football news through an SEC/Big Ten lens. If you're a Big 12 fan (or just curious), sign up bel...

BYU is stepping up in the transfer portal in a way we haven’t seen before, and it changes the Big 12 favorites conversation. In this live show, I break down how BYU’s retention wins (Bear Bachmeier, LJ Martin, Parker Kingston and more) paired with a top-tier portal haul has the Cougars legitimately closing the gap on Texas Tech. We’ll dive into BYU’s headline additions like Cal linebacker Cade Ulu...

The SEC narrative finally took a real hit, and it might actually stick this time. In this live episode of Open For Business (Big 12 Podcast), we’re talking about why the “SEC deserves special treatment” era is fading fast, what Ole Miss’ loss to Miami says about the 12-team College Football Playoff era, and why national voices are suddenly waving the white flag on the SEC hype machine. Then we piv...

Texas Tech has become a college football villain overnight, but is it fair? It's definitely not.  Get “Open For Business” a Big 12 newsletter sending the key headlines, interviews, and my analysis straight to your inbox. No more college football news through an SEC/Big Ten lens. If you're a Big 12 fan (or just curious), sign up below!  https://bit.ly/OFBNews12YT Get John Kurtz and Open F...

Texas Tech is putting together a Big 12 All-Star team in the portal and is likely to land Brendan Sorsby. The BYU-Utah-Michigan drama heats up.  Get “Open For Business” a Big 12 newsletter sending the key headlines, interviews, and my analysis straight to your inbox. No more college football news through an SEC/Big Ten lens. If you're a Big 12 fan (or just curious), sign up below!  https://bi...

Texas Tech's offense plays its worst game of the season by far and Oregon thumps Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl.  Big 12 Newsletter — Open For Business Get Big 12 news, playoff analysis, realignment talk and private capital breakdowns delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up here: https://bit.ly/OFBNews12YT Merch Store https://johnkurtzofb.myswaggymerch.co Subscribe For More Big 12 Coverage @...

Will BYU and Utah Survive Having Staff and Players Raided by Kyle Whittingham? BYU and Utah are finally finding out what life is like as true national winners — and that means watching Kyle Whittingham and Michigan circle their staffs and rosters. In this episode, John explains why Jay Hill to Michigan is actually a sign of BYU’s rise, why both BYU and Utah are better positioned than ever to withs...

About This Episode In this episode of the Open For Business Big 12 Podcast, John Kurtz uses advanced metrics and SP+ to compare BYU to the actual playoff field, pushes back on the lazy “G5 doesn’t belong” narrative, examines how TV and realignment warped the College Football Playoff structure, and explains why Texas Tech and BYU might quietly be in the best position of any Big 12 programs in the n...