The Big 12 Dunked on Pac-12 Twitter, and It Was Glorious

Through this latest round of conference realignment, an unlikely tension — and dare I say rivalry! — has emerged on social media between the Pac-12 and Big 12.

After reported discussions of a potential merger or of the Big 12 outright swiping members from the west after the Pac-12 lost both UCLA and USC to the Big Ten, there have been intense debates about the respective value of each conference, with one side pining for the Pac-12 using cherry-picked numbers and another side …. doing exactly the same.

The Big 12, though, might’ve dropped the mic on Wednesday on Pac-12 super-reporter Jon Wilner. After he shared some attendance numbers from the 2019 football season as a total number, the Big 12 quickly intervened to share context that, well, revealed quite a bit. Advantage: Big 12.

https://t.co/065gVaA3GP pic.twitter.com/GkjvjiIWSr

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) August 3, 2022

By percentage of capacity, the Big 12’s capacity was roughly 92%, based upon the numbers the Big 12 shared. (Those numbers excluded Texas and OU; the Pac-12’s numbers excluded USC and UCLA.) The Pac-12’s capacity by percentage on average was … drumroll please … 85.13%.

We go live now for an exclusive report from Big 12 headquarters!

Some sparring on Twitter isn’t going to change the course of realignment, of course (I don’t think?!), but this is a prime example of why context is so important. Raw numbers gave the Big 12 an advantage, percentage capacity numbers showed it’s not particularly close. Either way: Your move, Pac-12!