Report: Group of Doctors, Scientists Petition Against Big 12’s Monster Deal

Since its announcement at Big 12 Media Days, the conference’s deal with Monster Energy has come with a bit of scrutiny regarding the placement of logos and the money involved. But now, some doctors are apparently out on the deal.

According to a report from USA Today, a group of doctors and scientists have petitioned the Big 12 and the NCAA to pause the sponsorship, saying its a health risk to children.

Here’s a quote from John Higgins, a member of the group who is a sports cardiologist with the Houston Rockets and Rice Athletics:

“The reason for focusing on the Big 12 is primarily the scale and demographics of its audience,” Higgins said. “Big 12 games can reach roughly 10–18 million viewers per weekend, with particularly strong exposure among younger fans. That makes the conference an especially important environment to examine when considering the marketing and consumption of energy drinks among young people.”

If a backhanded compliment is something like looks like praise but contains hidden criticism, would the Big 12 having too wide a reach for such a deal, according to this group, be considered a fronthanded compliment?

The Big 12’s deal with Monster is reportedly worth $20 million annually for naming Monster the “Entitlement Partner of Big 12 Football and Big 12 Basketball regular seasons.” The Monster logo is set to be on football and basketball jerseys, as well as fields and courts … no matter how sacred.

While I like the partnership between the Big 12 and Monster, this is just an awful look. pic.twitter.com/RKAOq8ECDE

— Zachary Lancaster (@zlancaster91) August 18, 2026

My guess is this petition is going to change nothing. For starters, everyone in the college athletics space is trying to find as many streams of income as possible in the modern landscape. Secondly, the Big 12 is far from the only organization that promotes energy drinks, so why would it fall on this particular sword when it’s being done elsewhere?

But this adds to what’s been a complicated rollout for the partnership. Most public sentiment I’ve seen (or heard from Justin Southwell) have been negative about slapping a corporate logo on uniforms and playing surfaces, and that’s after the fact that some aren’t thrilled with the reported $20 million.

But winning cures all. I can see a world where if the Big 12 has strong football and basketball seasons, the sponsorship turns into something of a meme that fans will rally to make jokes behind. Could you imagine the amount of Monster jokes if OSU finds a way to upset Oregon?