Big 12 Commissioner Addresses Media

KANSAS CITY (AP) -- Big 12 schools should still pursue strong non-conference schedules even though they're no longer a determining factor in the Bowl Championship Series, league commissioner and former BCS coordinator Kevin Weiberg said Tuesday.

"I certainly favored the move to eliminate it from the BCS, because it made things complicated," said Weiberg, who wanted more voter control over BCS standings along with the system's controversial computer algorithm.

The Big 12 currently rewards schools with challenging non-conference schedules by giving them an extra unit -- about $200,000 -- from the conference's revenue-sharing pot if the game is televised nationally.

Speaking during the league's annual football media days, Weiberg also stressed two game-day issues: moving school bands from behind the benches of opposing teams, and the Big 12's continued efforts to prevent fans from rushing the field after games.

Bands were sitting between the two 25-yard lines, Weiberg said, and were mainly a noise problem for the opposing bench.

"There's really no good reason for bands to be in that location," Weiberg said. The conference is stressing that member schools make their "best efforts" to keep bands away from the benches in 2006 and will require them to comply in 2007.

This year, schools are filming public service announcements starring coaches and players, reminding fans not to rush the field after games, Weiberg said. The conference is now requiring members to monitor fans with video and to increase security around visiting teams' bench areas.

The issue is not one of the conference wanting to ruin fans' celebration, Weiberg said, but of concern for their safety.

He cited a 2003 incident in which a Nebraska player broke the nose of a Missouri fan who ran onto the field after a game in Columbia. The player, Kellen Huston, was fined $500 for the punch, and the fan, Matthew Scott, was ticketed for trespassing.

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SCHEDULE SWITCH: No disrespect to Texas A&M, Baylor or Oklahoma State -- but Kansas is glad to see them on the schedule this year.

Big 12 schools play only three teams from the other division each year, and this year's rotation takes Texas Tech, Oklahoma and defending national champion Texas off the Jayhawks' schedule.

While insisting that Kansas is as talented as any other team in the Big 12, defensive lineman James McClinton said he wasn't disappointed by the switch.

"It's kind of like a blessing not to play them," McClinton said, grinning emphatically and shaking his head. "Oklahoma -- they've got a big offensive line."

Baylor was predicted to finish last and Oklahoma State next-to-last in the Big 12 South in preseason media polling.

"I'm not going to say anything to diminish the programs that we've traded out for," Kansas coach Mark Mangino said. "But there's no question that you're talking about elite teams that are powers right now in this country in Oklahoma and Texas. So any time you can get them off your schedule and take just about anybody else, it's a good trade-off."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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