Why KU’s Travis Goff says he ‘probably couldn’t feel better’ about Big 12 in realignment

Kansas athletic director Travis Goff says he couldn’t be happier with the current state of the Big 12 conference.

And who could blame him, as the conference has been on the offensive all summer. After BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston officially joined the Big 12 on July 1, the conference has continued to expand.

Up next are corner Pac-12 schools Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah — making the Big 12 a 16-team conference by 2024.

Still, Goff hasn’t always been this optimistic about the future of the Big 12.

“I probably couldn’t feel better than I do right now,” Goff told The Star. “Honestly, I wouldn’t have been able to say that real honestly like a year or two years ago. I don’t even know if I would have been able to say with that kind of confidence a year ago. I think it would have been stretched, manufactured, exaggerated.

“Finally, in my tenure here now ... I feel like the Big 12 has taken off. I really do, and I’m not saying that to counter some kind of narrative or create a false narrative.”

Why is Goff so confident?

“It’s the confidence in the league, because frankly, in a lot of ways (it’s about commissioner) Brett Yormark and his approach,” Goff said. “(There’s) stability in the league, and if we’re being honest about it, stability in anything in college athletics is critical. ... Stability is an underrated phrase in society and certainly in college athletics. The Big 12 right now has incredible stability.

“The brand has only gotten stronger and stronger in particular over this past year. That’s a credit to the four that are now already in the league. They’ve been great partners and great additions. We’re excited to integrate them this year into competition. And certainly, it’s a testament to the four additional schools we added from the Pac-12 that will start in a year. We’re already having meetings with that full group. And you just continue to feel like it’s not just good now — it’s built for the long haul.”

Goff also said he believes the latest round of conference realignment benefits KU, not just the conference. He said there has been a positive effect on the Big 12’s brand, which “only helps and heightens the brand of Kansas athletics.”

He also said the Big 12’s stability gives Kansas the comfort to “take some risks” to carve out its own place going forward. The Jayhawks recently released renderings for a revamped football stadium as part of several facilities upgrades.

“We can forecast out more,” Goff said. “We could say, ‘OK, in 3 and then 5 and in 8 (years), we feel like we can see where the Big 12 is heading. So this is the manner in which we want to kind of press on the gas as a member of that conference. And here’s how that applies locally at KU.’”

While Texas and Oklahoma leave the conference for the SEC next year, Goff has no hard feelings.

“We know in a year we are going to be a really strong 16-team conference,” Goff said. “There’s just not a lot of holes to poke in the Big 12 of 2024. Sixteen teams, multiple time zones almost stretching coast to coast, not completely coast to coast, but close to stretching coast to coast.

“I’m not looking in the rear-view on if Texas and OU were still in the league. I’m looking out to now, but also in a year, and saying, ‘Dang, that’s the right future for the Big 12.’”

As for any rumors or thoughts that Kansas could leave the Big 12, Goff said Kansas isn’t looking to bolt.

“Those are such complex situations that I don’t think anybody could give an honest answer,” Goff said. “You are talking so many variables. You are talking what’s best for the broader institution, right? It’s not just the athletics program. You’re talking fiscally if it makes sense, and there are not just obvious elements of the financials.

“So it’s a really complex question. But what I can tell you is we are really enjoying and embracing being members of such a strong conference right now. It has — far and away — never felt as good as it does right now for me as the athletic director ... being in the Big 12. ... We are focused on, ‘Man, how do we help make the Big 12 better and stronger? Then (second part) is: How do we become a or the leader in the Big 12?”

To that end, Goff said KU can become a leader by competing at a high level across the board in athletics and having a few programs become household names.

“The barometers to me are going to be: Is Kansas Athletics comprehensively having the kind of success that says it’s the leader in the conference?” Goff said. “... (And) do you have a few of or more than a handful of the marquee programs?”

That’s what it takes, Goff continued, to say “you’re leading a league, so to speak.”