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Did the Big 12 Break its Baseball Contract to Leave Texas for Arizona?

Originally posted on Heartland College Sports
By Matthew Postins | Last updated May 26, 2025 12:10 PM ET

What’s going on in the Big 12 and beyond? I expand and explain every Sunday in Postscripts at Heartland College Sports, your home for independent Big 12 coverage.

This week, the Big 12 Baseball Tournament is moving to Surprise, the NCAA vs. House settlement is in statis and now we know who’s running things — and it’s not the NCAA.

SURPRISE, IT’S … SURPRISE

The Big 12 baseball tournament will be played in Surprise, Ariz., next year. The games will be played at Surprise Stadium, which is the spring training home for both the Texas Rangers and the Kansas City Royals.

This moves it from Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. GLF is a great facility, if for no other reason than the retractable roof keeps the weather from delaying the tournament. But, as someone who has covered a few Big 12 Tournaments and covers Texas Rangers games, the tournament has a less-than-ideal gameday environment. It’s cavernous without 30,000 people in the stands.

I wasn’t surprised it moved. I was a bit surprised the league chose a venue where the temperature on gamedays will likely be 100 degrees. But, don’t forget — it’s a dry heat.

Now, the league does want to improve its western footprint when it comes to championship tournaments. Football, basketball and softball aren’t moving. They’re in ideal locations for now. Baseball was the one event with the flexibility to do so — but not that much.

So, why Surprise? Well, in 2023 the Big 12 extended its deal with GLF to play the Big 12 Tournament there through 2028. Now it’s 2025. So … did the Big 12 break the deal?

Not likely, and after some detective work here’s why. REV Entertainment operates GLF and manages the non-Rangers events at the ballpark. This includes concerts, bull riding, rodeos and those February college baseball tournaments. REV also operates Surprise Stadium. The Big 12’s partnership is with REV Entertainment.

You can’t break a contract if you can simply transfer it to another venue if both parties are cool with it, right?

“We are excited to continue our partnership with REV Entertainment as the Big 12 Baseball Championship moves to a world-class venue in Arizona,” said Big 12 Chief Competition Officer Scott Draper. “Surprise Stadium is a premier facility that will create a great atmosphere and experience for our student-athletes and fans.”

I’ve been out to Surprise for spring training. It’s a solid venue. I’m not sure it pushes attendance numbers any higher than Arlington — it’s well outside of Phoenix’s city center so if you’re going you’re going for baseball — but it likely will have a better atmosphere, even with smaller numbers.

But, after 2028, who knows where it will go?

AND NOW WE WAIT

A truer tweet has never been posted.

It’s after 5 p.m. PT, and there is no decision on the House settlement.

In 40 days, DI athletic departments are scheduled to begin paying out more than $1 billion to athletes.

The formal establishment of the enforcement entity remains on hold. The industry remains in limbo.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) May 24, 2025

By the way, it’s now 38 days.

So, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken, who has heard the House vs. NCAA settlement case from the beginning, will determine whether it will be implemented or not. If you recall, the hold-up is over the roster limits and whether those student-athletes who are getting squeezed by those limits can be grandfathered into the settlement.

The power four conferences and the NCAA have solved this problem — they hope — by giving schools the option to do so. They’re not requiring it to be done. They’re just giving schools the option to do so. That could be a sticking point for Wilken, who in previous hearings has not looked kindly upon what he sees as injury to those student athletes who are losing scholarships.

If Wilken agrees, then game on. If not, then my guess is there will be more adjusting by the power four conferences and the NCAA. I don’t think she’ll scuttle the settlement completely — unless the power four conferences and NCAA aren’t willing to budge further.

If so, then it’s back to square one. Probably. But I’m betting they’ll find a way to get this done. There is entirely too much money at stake — and too many potential lawsuits to deal with if they don’t.

YOU CAN BLAME THE P-4 NOW

What many of us suspected was confirmed earlier this week.

NCAA chairman Charlie Baker said at the Knight Commission meeting this week that the power four conferences will implement the rules of the proposed House settlement. That means those four conferences will run revenue-sharing, NIL vetting and enforcement.

Yep, the NCAA is getting out of that business. And while that’s usually cause for much rejoicing, one must wonder if the power four conferences will be any better at it?

Given the issues related to the grandfathering or roster numbers, and their stubbornness to implement it, I have my doubts. But we’ll see. Plus, there’s the below.

STATE LAW? WHAT’S THAT?

Earlier this week Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported that the power conferences have drafted a contract that would bind schools to new enforcement rules and require them to waive the right to sue over decisions.

Dive into Delleger’s piece and you find out why I’m so dubious about the P-4 running things. The reason? Another part of this deal is that schools would not be able to lean into state laws that are on the books to violate enforcement rules. Consequences for not doing so could include eviction from their conference.

So, the expectation of the P-4 is that schools are going to respect their “laws” over their state laws if they’re contradictory? Can that even be done? I’m not a legal expert. But Dellenger quoted Mit Winter, a sports law attorney at Kennyhertz Perry LLC. He said two important things. Laws like the one in Tennessee, signed recently, gives schools cover in this arena and that many of the House settlement concepts are subject to antitrust scrutiny.

But, at least one Big 12 athletic director seems open to the idea of this … whatever this is.

“If we go back to external NIL that is separate from the House pool revenue share and back to a pay-for-play model, then why did we settle?” asks Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades. “We are going to spend $20.5 million [the per-school cap in Year 1] and then on top of it go to pay-for-play with collectives?”

Well, maybe. But let’s see if House gets approved first.

This article first appeared on Heartland College Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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