Big 12 Conference to Host Fourth Forum on College Athletics

IRVING, Texas – The Big 12 Conference has announced the lineup for its next “State of College Athletics” Forum to further examine the issues facing college athletics.  To be held at the Omni Dallas Hotel on Tuesday, November 17, at 3:00 pm CT, and building on the dialogue from its three previous events, this Forum will focus on the challenges confronting college football.

“Our previous Forums addressed a broad range of issues,” said Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby. “With football season in full swing and top of mind, it is important to have open, unrestricted dialogue about the issues directly involved with this high-profile sport and explore ways to positively impact its future given its unique place in American society.”

Sports broadcaster and lead host of 120 Sports, Michael Kim will serve as moderator. He will address numerous topics with the panelists including, but not limited to, student-athlete name, image and likeness rights, college athletes as employees, and the value of an athletic scholarship.

Added Kim, “This Forum’s panel is comprised of some of the brightest minds in intercollegiate athletics, including respected authorities from sports journalism, university and athletic leadership. It will allow for a wide range of opinions and perspectives, which are instrumental to the future of this great sport.”

FOX Sports Southwest will produce the live webcast of the event, which will be available on the FOX Sports Go app and at Big12Sports.com. 

Featured Panelists
•      Bob Bowlsby – Commissioner, Big 12 Conference
•      Kain Colter – Co-Founder, College Athletes Players Association
•      Burns Hargis – President, Oklahoma State University
•      Kirby Hocutt – Athletics Director, Texas Tech University
•      Ramogi Huma – President, The National College Players Association
•      Sally Jenkins – Columnist and Featured Writer, Washington Post
•      Joe Nocera – Op-Ed Columnist, New York Times

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE PANELISTS
Bob Bowlsby is the Commissioner of the Big 12 Conference, and host of this Forum. Bowlsby has chaired several NCAA committees and served on the United States Olympic Committee Board of Directors. He is the former Athletics Director at Stanford, Iowa and Northern Iowa, and was a college wrestler.

Kain Coulter served as quarterback and two-year co-captain of the Northwestern football team. He made history by co-founding College Athletes Players Association (CAPA) and leading a unionization effort among his fellow Northwestern football players. He earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Northwestern and currently serves as a member of CAPA’s Board of Directors.

Burns Hargis is the 18th President of the Oklahoma State University and the OSU System. Hargis oversees one of the nation’s most comprehensive land-grant university systems. He received the state’s highest honor when he was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2009.

Kirby Hocutt is Texas Tech’s 13th Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, and is on the College Football Playoff selection committee. He previously served as the Big 12 representative to the NCAA Division I Leadership Council and was the chairman of the NCAA Division I Football Recruiting Subcommittee. Hocutt was an All-Big 8 middle linebacker at Kansas State.

Ramogi Huma is the Founder and President of the College Athletes Players Association.  He is a former UCLA football player who initiated and has led the college athletes’ rights movement for more than 15 years. Huma has testified in US Congressional hearings and briefings, state legislatures, and in legal matters in support of better protections for college athletes.

Sally Jenkins is a sports columnist and feature writer for The Washington Post. She is the author of “Sum It Up: 1098 Victories, A Couple of Irrelevant Losses and A Life In Perspective” with legendary basketball coach Pat Summitt and “It’s Not About the Bike” with Lance Armstrong. In 2002 she won the Associated Press’ Columnist of the Year Award.

Joe Nocera was recently brought on to the New York Times sports desk to write about the business of sports. He had previously been writing for the opinion pages for the Times. He has won three Gerald Loeb awards, including the 2008 award for commentary, and three John Hancock awards for excellence in business journalism.

About the Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is comprised of 10 Universities – Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech and West Virginia. The Big 12 is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletics conference that encompasses five states with over 38 million people within its geographic footprint. In its 20th year, the Conference has produced nearly 600 Academic All-America selections and claimed national championship team titles in 17 of its 23 sponsored sports. Its student-athletes and teams have combined for 587 individual NCAA titles and 54 team national championships. Nearly 5,000 student-athletes from across the United States and around the World compete annually under the Big 12 banner.