2013 Big 12 Men's Basketball Championship
The Big 12 is in the midst of its 17th year as it continues to promote the strength and success of one of the nation's premier athletic conferences.
Bob Bowlsby was named the Conference's fourth commissioner on May 4, 2012 after spending the previous six years as director of athletics at Stanford University. TCU and West Virginia joined the league on July 1, 2012 and became the Big 12's first additions since inception, joining Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas Tech.
With 10 members, the Big 12 remains as the only major conference in the nation to determine its champions in all sports directly on the field of play with a full round-robin schedule.
The Conference's hard work ethic and strong values have translated to enormous success in its first 16-plus years. Since it began competition in 1996-97, the league can boast of 49 NCAA team titles and 519 individual national championships.
The trophy case has already added more hardware this year as the Texas won the NCAA Championship in women's volleyball and the Oklahoma State men's cross country team captured its third national championship in the last four seasons. In addition, Texas Tech's Kennedy Kithuka and Iowa State's Betsy Saina claimed the 2012 NCAA individual titles.
In 2011-12, Baylor claimed its second national championship in women's basketball, as well as the Hunter Seat title in equestrian. In addition, Texas men's golf claimed the national crown.
Through its first 16-plus years, the Big 12 has claimed a team national championship in 16 of the sports it sponsors. The Conference ranks second with seven appearances in the BCS National Championship Game and is second with 96 football consensus All-America selections in that time. League squads have combined to lead the nation in women's basketball attendance each of the last 13 years and the Big 12 is the only conference to surpass the one-million mark in season attendance - doing so six times. In men's basketball, the league has had two teams in the regional finals in four of the past five seasons. No other conference has had multiple Elite Eight teams in a season as much during that span. During the last nine years a total of 28 NCAA trophies have been hoisted by Big 12 institutions, with at least one national crown won in all but one year for the Conference, including 16 consecutive seasons.
The Big 12 and its member institutions are committed to a competitive environment where sportsmanship and fair play take center stage. Whether on the field, in the classroom, or within the community, the student-athletes, administrators, coaches and game officials of the Big 12 support the highest ideals in sportsmanship.
National academic accolades have always been strong in the Big 12. Danielle Robinson (Oklahoma) and Sam Acho (Texas) were selected to receive Today's Top VIII Awards - one of the NCAA's top honors. It recognizes student-athletes who completed their athletic eligibility during 2010-11 for success on the fields and courts, in the classroom and in the community. In 2011-12, two student-athletes were recipients of the NCAA Elite 89 Award. That honor showcases individuals who have reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level, while also achieving the highest academic standard among their peers.
The Big 12 Conference annually conducts postseason championships in 20 sports. Updated information will be added for each sport prior to the championship.
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