A few nuggets emerged from the first day of Big 12 Media Days, including commissioner Brett Yormark outlining his vision for the 16-member conference, musings about College Football Playoff expansion, and a new corporate partnership with Monster Energy.
And then, Texas Tech stole the spotlight. Again.
And for all the wrong reasons. Yet again.
The reigning Big12 football champions recently -- and very publicly -- set themselves at odds with their conference counterparts, leadership, and just about every sane sports fan by doubling down on transfer quarterback Brenden Sorsby. If you care enough about college sports to be reading this column, you already know what happened with both Sorsby and Tech.
The Red Raiders were left without a quarterback. And they were also left fuming.
That brooding petulance hovering over Lubbock followed some of the team's media entourage to Frisco, Texas for Big 12 Media Days. At one point during the question and answer segment, Texas Tech media member Sean Dillon asked a question to commissioner Yormark that made every other professional there squirm in their seats. Dillon, demonstrating the professional maturity of Veruca Salt whining to Willy Wonka, brought up what he perceives to be unfairness shown to Texas Tech when it comes to flying tortillas and gambling quarterbacks.
Dillion's whiny question clearly embarrassed his peers who could be seen hiding their faces, and it annoyed commissioner Yormark to the point he made him stand up and repeat the convoluted query before testily swatting it away.
A spicy interaction between Brett Yormark and Texas Tech media personality Sean Dillon.
— Jake Brend (@JakeBrendTV) July 7, 2026
"Stand up. Ask that question again and I'm going to give you the answer I want to give you." pic.twitter.com/sSq2A5qDbE
Dillon's question was red meat for at least some Texas Tech fans hungry to feed at the unsatisfying slop trough of aggrieved victimhood. Comments from Tech fans on X revealed how many of them are completely dissatisfied as members of the Big 12 and want to see their school leave the conference.
After Dillon's bumbling question, verified X user Jacob Harris from the Scarlet and Black Insider posted on X, "Brett Yormark made it clear why Texas Tech needs to leave the Big 12 at the first opportune moment."
For Texas Tech fans who think Tech is too good for the Big 12 or that the conference is treating them unfairly to the point they should leave the conference, as a BYU fan I have good news for you:
Texas Tech can bet on themselves and go independent!
Texas Tech's bright future as a football independent!
If the Red Raiders aren't happy with their current conference affiliation, they can do what BYU did in 2011 and simply go independent in football.
Fifteen years ago, BYU, then a member of the Mountain West, looked at its conference options and decided to bet on itself rather than remain in a conference that couldn't elevate its program to the heights it aspired to. Sound familiar, Tech?
BYU chose the hard road of football independence from 2011 through 2022. The Cougars had the national brand recognition and substantial fan base to secure a media deal with ESPN. Despite the inherent disadvantages of not being in a power conference, BYU still played good football, appearing in a bowl game in 11 of those 12 seasons. Six of those teams climbed inside the Top 20 at some point in the season.
Yes, independence was a slog, but BYU's administration had the foresight to know additional conference realignment was coming. The Cougars best chance to "level up" from the Mountain West or the Western Athletic Conference was to bet on themselves, go independent, and become an appealing free agent. It might have taken 12 long years, but getting into the Big 12 was well worth the wait.
If Texas Tech thinks it deserves something bigger and better than the Big 12 -- and more than a few Tech fans have wandering eyes for the SEC -- then just do the other 15 teams in the conference a favor: either quit whining or leave the Big 12 and go independent. Sure, the Big 12's grant of rights doesn't expire until 2031, but Tech boosters reportedly have the money to fix just about anything.
If Texas Tech has this much disdain for the Big 12, there's an easy solution: Walk out that door, bet on yourselves, and set out on your own.
BYU was a big enough brand to make independence work in their favor in the end.
There's nothing stopping a very disgruntled Texas Tech from doing the same.
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